Sindhuli, July 15: The Building a Resilient Churia Region in Nepal (BRCRN) has recently implemented a conservation class for students of secondary school in three provinces. A special curriculum prepared in collaboration with the Institute of Forestry Studies of Tribhuvan University was taught in these classes. This class was conducted in May and June 2024 in 21 schools of Sindhuli, Sunsari and Mahottari districts, with 30 students of grades 8, 9 and 10 in each school.
In Janjagriti Secondary School of Sindhuli, teachers who teach social education and science take turns to teach this course. The school has informed that students from diverse geographical areas were selected to take part in this class, in order to ensure diverse representation. Since the students get to learn about their particular environment, they are curious to learn more, according to the instructors.
Hari Prasad Koirala, science teacher of Jana Jagriti Secondary School, says, “In this course, students study about things around them like the geography of Chure, the plants and animals here, the deforestation around their homes, floods and landslides, etc. All of these are intricately related to their lives. Just yesterday, one of the students couldn’t come to school because the road was flooded. Students have shown interest in learning about the problems they are facing, and finding solutions to them.”
In Jana Jagriti Secondary School, selected students study this additional curriculum for two periods, after regular classes finish on Friday afternoon. This curriculum includes topics like the landscape of Chure, forests, forest management systems, medicinal plants, wildlife, animals and birds, human-wildlife interactions, water bodies and water resources, socio-economic conditions, land-use change, soil erosion, causes of landscape degradation, climate change and disasters, impacts on gender equality and social inclusion, sustainable forest management, forest conservation, water resource conservation, organic farming, etc, which ultimately emphasize sustainable natural resource management.
The curriculum emphasizes that the erosion of Chure has increased due to changes in land use. Students have demonstrated an understanding of these lessons. “Earlier there was a lot of forest cover in Chure area. Now people are encroaching on the forest, which has negatively impacted the forest. We are learning how to conserve this land,” says Sangeeta Hayu, a student of Jana Jagriti Secondary School.
Currently, under the local curriculum, many schools teach courses that provide information about the local environment, local temples and shrines, etc. But there are no specific courses focusing on the geographical and social conditions and conservation of the Chure region in particular. In this case, the students say that they are happy to learn about the Chure region in such detail. “We are glad to learn about the place where we live. Now if someone asks us about Chure, we can tell them everything. We can even teach children who don’t know these things,” says Justina Rai, a student of Janajagriti Mavi.
A trainer informs that this course is relevant regarding the current context of Chure. “In the last 10-12 years, Chure has degraded a lot. In some places, development infrastructure works including electricity transmission lines have cut down trees and denuded the hills. It is sad to see that,” says Shambhu Koirala, social studies teacher of Jana Jagriti Secondary School. “This course talks about the reasons forests are destroyed, and how to protect forests and wildlife, which is very relevant in the current context.”
This curriculum aligns with BRCRN’s objective of raising more awareness about the conservation of Chure. “The essence of this course is the sustainable management of natural resources in this area. It is our hope that the students will imbibe this message and engage in conservation with their families and communities,” says Ram Balak Yadav, Bagmati Province Coordinator of the project.
The students said that this course has inspired them to work on conserving Chure area. “At present, many trees are being cut down for firewood in Chure area. But life can only exist if there are trees. Without trees, there is no life. So, I learned that trees should be protected,” says Omprakash Chaudhary, a student of Namuna Secondary School, Ladabhir. “I want to make my career in this sector.”
“This curriculum is linked with the students’ daily life. So, the course will be useful for them not just as an area of study, but also in their practical life,” says Purushottam Pahadi, Assistant Principal of Jana Jagriti Secondary School.
