When we lived in Nepal in 2010, my mom Karen started leading bird walks with students from Kailash. These walks blossomed into the Bird-watching “club,” with an emphasis on celebrating Nepal’s amazing biodiversity, developing group leadership skills, and discussing conservation issues. Karen has returned several times, bringing donated binoculars and hard-to-find birding guidebooks. Several dedicated students have kept the club sporadically active over the years, but a fresh infusion of enthusiasm and regularity always helps!
My Dad and I are spending weekends at the Kailash Home, especially so we can get a really early start each Saturday morning for Bird Walks! I have to say, it’s tough after a week of lesson planning, teaching, and homework to get up at 5am each Saturday to go out birding… and I’m not even that good at it! The summer humidity and heat can be brutal, and the walks are quite long, but the excitement of spotting colorful birds is pretty amazing. The students are really enthusiastic, and several jot down every species we identify. Electric blue kingfishers, colorful Barbets, and 2 hard-to-spot woodpeckers were highlights on our first weekend! We identified over 30 species. The students know so much more than me, so I feel like I’m mostly learning from them… but they wouldn’t be birding regularly if my Dad and I weren’t here to volunteer and make it happen each week.
The birding club has helped raise their awareness of environmental and conservation issues. We walk and talk about birds, but also about the polluted rivers, rapid home construction, and loss of habitat. A few students are now considering studying forestry, or natural resources in college thanks to their time with the birding club. Over the years, students have said things like “I used to only know crow, sparrow and kite… now I am amazed that Nepal has such beautiful bird life.” Another told my Dad, “On school bus I was always bored or sleeping. Now I watch outside looking for every bird I can spot.”Hopefully our brief time re-invigorating the bird-watching club will be beneficial and inspiring for these students!
No comments:
Post a Comment