December 10, 2010

Family Nature Camp


With the pace of life, unbearable traffic and simply insufficient avenues to experience Nature, families in our big cities often resort to television, malls and other truly urban forms of recreation. The spin off from these activities is that our children are getting more disconnected from Nature with each passing year. Their immunity drops, minds remain less challenged and there’s enough research to show that even their self-esteem takes a significant knock!

Many parents strive to find avenues by which their children can experience Nature and animals/ wildlife. What The Gerry Martin Project is proposing is for any interested parents to share this experience with their children.

We will leave Bangalore in the morning of the 14th of January and drive four hours to Hunsur where we will camp at Ossie Martin’s farm. The farm is located on the banks of a lovely lake and is basically a fruit orchard with a little agriculture and some livestock. Here, we will experience Nature through various activities that will be designed for parents to do with their children. There will be a lot of small wildlife that can also be experienced and of course, the lake that can be used to the fullest. We will paddle over in our coracles, swim in the shallows and even fish if we choose.

We’ll also build hides to watch the numerous bird species on and around the lake and get a chance to understand how wildlife and Nature photographers work. Nagarahole National Park is not far and we’ll take a drive through, looking for larger game ranging from Elephant and Gaur (Indian Bison) to deer and mongoose. We’ll also visit Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary and go on a boat ride to look at marsh crocodiles and a host of wading birds that nest on the river.

We’ll be staying in raised coconut shacks or camping tents. The bathrooms are permanent structures with running water.

This camp is an ideal way to get in touch with Nature, capitalize on some quality time with the family and deflate for a while.

For more details or to register, please get in touch with Conan on conan@gerrymartin.in or call Gerry on 9845779666.

No comments:

Post a Comment