Assam: 900 young minds sensitised on rhino’s importance to ecosystem

Guwahati: Aaranyak’s flagship ‘Rhino Goes to School’ campaign was organised in the form of a series for students of four schools in the vicinity of Kaziranga Tiger Reserve in Assam with participation of altogether 900 students.

One of the programmes was organised at Luhitmukh Higher Secondary School located on the fringe of Biswanath Wildlife Division of Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, with a participation of around 300 students, Aranyak said in a statement.

As part of the awareness campaign, students were educated on diverse aspects of rhinos, their habits and habitats and the role they play in ecosystems and for our well-being.

An engaging open quiz contest was held in conjunction with the presentation of the subject, interactions about the Greater one-horned rhino and a visual presentation.

Babuli Hazarika, ex honorary wildlife warden, Biswanath District and teachers of the school graced the programme. The event was coordinated and administered by Aaranyak’s senior official Arif Hussain.

Another such awareness programme on rhino conservation was organised at Luhitmukh Girls’ High School, located on the fringe of Biswanath Wildlife Division of Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, with a participation of around 250 students.

Two more such awareness events on rhino conservation under our "Rhino Goes to School" campaign were conducted by the same resource team of Aaranyak in Namoni Mishing ME School Paken and No. 2 Bortamuli LP school in the vicinity of Gomeri Range of Biswanath Wildlife Division under Kaziranga Tiger Reserve with a participation of 350 students.

The programmes were conducted on December 28 with support from David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.

This ambitious campaign aims to inculcate conservation awareness among the students of fringes of rhino bearing areas.

As such the outreach events also emphasise on the role of citizens for sustaining wildlife and ecosystem balance.

Visual presentations, talks and open quiz are adopted as means of communication with the target audience (the students) to achieve the goal of the programmes.