Ganesh Palaveshmuttu Nador

Ganesh Palaveshmuttu Nador is an active writer and environmentalist from Uttara Kannada district. He has completed his Bachelors in Education. He has also published books titled Prani Pakshigala Kathegalu and Bellakki Mattu Bulbul. He has conducted several workshops in schools all over Karnataka to facilitate literature activities among students.

Ganesh’s project on engaging students to learn and document the migration of birds aims to create connections with the world of science, language and social science for the eighth grade at the Government Higher Primary School, in Anagoda village in Uttara Kannada district. Ganesh has planned a series of activities that will culminate in a publication called Hakki Harutide Nodidira (Have You Seen the Flying Bird?).

Birds are beautiful and everywhere; and thus perfect for introducing science topics to children. Learning about our winged neighbours can serve as a constant reminder that, to trained eyes and aware minds, even in the most urban of environments, nature is all around us. The goal of the project is not to create a portfolio of pretty pictures of birds but to develop a tool to help students see, wonder, and remember their own experiences.

The project involves keeping field journals and classroom activities that will turn students into keen observers by writing about birds. Other strategies include assembly and classroom presentations, teacher workshops and motivational sessions on myth, mythology, folk songs and stories of birds. Children will also create poems and stories from their observations. The outcome of this project will be an exhibition and a publication containing short stories, poems and textual documentation of the folk songs. The deliverables to IFA from this project will be still and video documentation of the entire project and a copy of the publication.