Anubhav for Class VI

Parvati Hills - The Outdoor Lab:

Parvati Hills is an exceptional & tranquil landscape in the Northern part of Gujarat, located at a height of 200 ft above ground level overlooking 2000 acres of green forests & villages of Gujarat nearby, only 125 km away from Ahmedabad. Being amidst of nature, Parvati hills experiences pleasant weather throughout the year. Its incomprehensible expanse of flat land, water-bodies, natural flora & fauna makes is ideal for adventure, leisure & nature education. The adventure park with a dozen obstacles can be utilized for different types of training of the youth.

The places close to Parvati Hills have a lot for those with an archaeological inclination. Participants would be visiting ancient temples, like Shyamalaji, Harichandra ni Chori etc dating back to the 15th century onwards. The cultural museum and Meshow Dam are the other attractions.

Learning Opportunities:

Those who fail to learn from History and those who alienate from own culture would end up in disillusion, wise people say. Learning history can be boring in the class rooms but a visit to the 15th century Shyamalaji temple in the midst of a rural set up can be interesting as well as learning exposure at a time. An interpretation of the entire temple complex, consisting of several carvings can be very educational. Students can be taken back to the 15th century for a discussion by way of observation; history, architecture and culture.

A short trek to the forest and nearby ravines can be a refreshing experience for many of the students, many may get excited but few may really get worried also. The concept of wildlife and danger associated with the forest and wildlife is very prevalent in many of the youngsters. They would clearly be oriented that a chance of an encounter with big animals like leopards or bears is next to impossible but many of them would expect one all the way. A small interactive session at the end of the trek can clear many of their doubts and gave clarity to the concept of wildlife and their habitat.

Water harvesting is of course heard of, but seeing it happening in front you and experiencing the process can be an interesting learning activity. The students would move to the nearby water bodies where we have done demonstrative water harvesting experiments. How much difference a small check dam could make to the entire ecosystem can very clearly be visible there.

A night walk through the wilderness of the forest can be exciting for few but may bring lot of other feelings generally associated with darkness and fear for others. Naturally, the humans are supposed to be diurnal, though the modern life style and work habits make many of us nocturnal. Generally all youngsters want to be brave and courageous and express that they are not really afraid of night. But when it comes to real life situation, many of the brave youngsters either become silent or hold others hand. This particular session will be used to tell them about the basic difference between the day life and nightlife and how it is so well planned and designed in the nature.
Watching the night sky brings lots of thoughts to any young person. Unfortunately the urban children are deprived of a beautiful night sky because of the air and light pollution. Parvati Hills, being quite away from the urban locations displays a wonderful clear night sky. Identifying different constellations through specially developed software can be an interesting session.

Image Gallery Class VI