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ATREE’s Environment Education (EE) programme aims to promote environmental action among diverse stakeholders for conserving India’s key natural resources, broadly classified under the themes of Land, Water and Forests.
ATREE follows a ‘Hands-On Place-based Education’ (HOPE) approach that focuses on experiential learning and environmental stewardship. The HOPE model, emphasising on understanding and action, aligns with the mandate of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) outlined by UNESCO, the National Curriculum Framework (NCF, 2005), the Right to Education (RTE, 2009) and the New Education Policy (NEP, 2020) India.
The workshops are customised to the needs of the educators and related stakeholders, providing them with a perspective as well as pedagogical inputs to promote activity-based environmental education. ATREE offers thematic training for educators who wish to learn how to involve their school community in protecting and conserving their local natural resources.
We work with both government and private schools near the Community Conservation Centres (CCCs). Our programme, Ainthinai Arivom, teaches students about the different ecosystems found in the Agasthyamalai area. Another programme, Jalapaadom, focuses on helping students learn about the fish species and the lake ecosystem in Vembanad.
ATREE produces and curates contextual, relevant and age-appropriate educational resources for teachers and students. These enable children to connect with nature and can be easily integrated into school curricula. The resources are in the form of pictorial field guides, visual posters, flashcards, comic strips, newsletters and interactive games developed based on ATREE research.
ATREE promotes regular citizen science initiatives in collaboration with a community of interested citizens and researchers. It hosts nature walks and trails and organises outreach events to promote community conservation. Focus areas include lake restoration, waste management, water quality testing, school kitchen gardens and more.
