Urban Wilderness!

A naturalist’s beginning

With the explosion of media coverage of various wild subjects from whales and walruses to herpetologists and adventurers, children today are more exposed to what lies ‘out there’ than ever before. There is an ever-increasing interest in the animal world and adventure in the outdoors. However, much of this remains fantasy and children aren’t able to easily access wild areas or expanses of wilderness to explore.
Further, possibly because of the schedules they need to keep, children have not built the skills to safely and optimally explore and experience the outdoors.

The Gerry martin Project is trying to make these skills and contexts more accessible. Towards this, we are running a weekend workshop in October that will help children between the ages of 10 and 16 learn new skills, experience urban wildlife and develop ways in which they can start the process of conservation at home.

This workshop will be conducted at the Martin Farm on Sarjapur Road. In addition to all the naturalistic learning and skill building, children will also learn how to camp in the wilderness, cook on outdoor wood fires, follow safe protocol in the wild and generally develop a personal connect with the outdoors.
Gerry Martin will head the program along with two or three other naturalists. There will be at least one female instructor along and all faculty will have gone through a thorough orientation before the program.

Workshop Date: October 23rd and 24th.
Age Bracket: 10 to 16 years.

Activities will include:
• Exploring habitats used by various urban wildlife
• Understanding the role of the lesser known animals in the ecosystem
• Things to do to bring Nature home
• Canopy access systems
• Ornithological basics
• Herpetological basics
• Outdoor skills
• Creating aquatic ecosystems
• Night surveys
• Fun and games!

For more details or to register, write to conan@gerrymartin.in
or call Gerry on 9845779666 or Conan on 9449010673.