We had an almost 45 day break this summer, in which the Teacher Learners (TL) team along with senior group students visited the Nature camp at jeolikot (Naital, uttarakhand). Our generous host Paras Bhai, made it a most memorable experience for all of us. But before we go into this beautiful story, we must let you know that while we were away in the HImalayas on a learning expedition, our team back in Araria, made infrsatructural advances, to welcome the new students we were planning to bring on campus, in the months of May-June.
The Hall floor was finally made pakka, as it will now be used as a dormitory for boys, along with becoming a space for multiple classrooms A new block of toilets as bathrooms being built as we plan to increase from 22 to 30+ students
The much awaited trip to Nainital …
If u remember, in November 2021 we had told you about Paras and Shurti’s visit to Araria. They invited us to their Nature Camp, Camp Sparrow, in Jeolikot, Nainital. We were all very enthusiastic and excited about the visit. Here is a small photo update on our trip, which ended with a day well spent in Delhi.
What more can you ask for on a train journey? An observant group and books to turn to, when the world outside gives you a chance to peep into the world of books. Heading out to Nanital!
Boating trip in Nainital
Clockwise: Walk to the Arboretum; Starting the day with a healthy drink; With the forester, at the Arboretum; Interaction at the local school and finally a walk through the arboretum with the local school children.
Plucking Hisalu (a local berry ont he way to a jungle picnin)We are tired and we like the view!Climbing on At the Haunted House!The Warwick residence The Jungle Party was a fully eco friendly affair and we got the most fabulous veg biryani, with eevryone’s combined labour. As we reached the happy children’s library, we stepped out again into the village, with one local student to accompany us … At the library, were beautiful welcome messages, in the shadow of which we got together …… in groups bringing together the uttarakhand village with our bihar villagesDoin the traditional choliya dance with all children slowly joining in. Jaya di and Abhimanyu chat, as Atul ji watches. jaya di and Atul ji are founders of the Happy children’s LibraryAt the Bee keeping centre in Jeolikote Entering the Mushroom harvesting centre Mushroom Harvesting, a interesting interactive learning … growing mushrooms Evening film at camp sparrow… Where are we headed? Plastics, biodiversity, environmental conservation, all in one.
The day ended with a sombre and ebautiful musical evening.. here is a short clip of the jugalbandi by Paras Bhai on the guitar and Gaurav Bhai on the tabla. The final day started with an orientation to bird watching… .. understanding how to identify birds and find out more about them from … …books on bird watching And after dabbling with bird watching, we dashed straight into the nearby stream … … a cooling down 🙂 Final bye at camp sparrow, with all of us in one frame!And the moon shone a bright bye too 🙂 Boarding the Ranikhet express to Delhi, our next stop. In typical camp sparrow way, we were given an eco friendly packed dinner. Before getting on the train. A game of ludo before we sleep! Interacting with Bina Ma’am at the Qutub Minar. A special person and a teacher par excellence, who brought the world into the tiny school classrooms. While touring the tall Qutub Minar, a part of our team.
And with the halt in Delhi, our trip came to an end and we boarded seemanchal express to Araria.
Mosamat Budhiya Shiksha Nirman Sangathan 