Season Watch is an initiative to compile a nationwide database on seasonal patterns across India. With climate change modifying our seasonal patterns around the world, Season Watch is an attempt to map these changes through observation of trees.
This year, our very enthusiastic Nature Club will be monitoring the trees in their schools as part of the Season Watch program. A job that takes only 5 minutes a week has multifold implications in the world of biological sciences. Once our students accurately record their data on the trees, Season Watch’s scientists analyse it to understand the bigger question of seasonal changes around India.

Ashish Shah addressing the students.
Just as we were basking in the glory of our successful sowing, the weather decided to put an end to it. With record breaking amounts of rainfall, there was absolute no chance our little methi and palak plants could survive. The torrential rains of August and unusual downpours in September ensured the patch a hard time.
So, what’s the damage?
The Methi and Palak plants completely withered under all that rain. Half of the patch flooded and amounted in a complete failure.

The 8th graders patch that got destroyed in the rains.

With topics ranging from distribution of animals in the oceans, the physical and chemical properties of water, ice and steam, water as a conductor, water as a source of energy, and the power of water to the history of water use over the ages, this interactive and experimental session was a fun space for the students to explore everything to do with Water.

Have you ever wondered how our planet provides us with pristine drinking water?

Even though the students in the forest villages of Tikadi, Paraspani and Sarrah live around the Pench Tiger Reserve, very few of them have actually seen a tiger or know about its behaviour.
We’re all well aware of how good the soil and climate is in Pench. In fact, the day after we sowed, we saw that some of our seeds had sprouted! Given the terrible monsoon conditions, we knew we had to be patient and be open to some amount of failure. None the less, we hoped for the best.
Our students diligently took care of their patches and we were looking forward to a good set of vegetables! We could feel it- we were definitely going to have a good set of vegetables! After all, the students had put in such an effort!

7th Grader, Shreyansh, tending to his patch.
The world’s first E-Base was set up by revolutionary Robert Swan in the Antarctic. The only other E-Base in the world exists in the very middle of India in Pench, Madhya Pradesh. The students of the forest villages of Tikadi, Paraspani and Sarrah were delighted by their first trip to the E-base in Turia.

Making the students locate Antarctica on the globe
The third E-Base in the world is incidentally set up, once again, in India. It’s time we connect the two! Thank you so much Robert Swan for this very personal message all the way from Ladakh to us, here at Conservation Wildlands.
There’s a whole lot of work to be done and we’re right behind you!
Source: www.2041.com
The day of heavy rains and our sowing had passed. We were all now patiently waiting for the kali mitti and the seeds to do their job. Given the weather, we were very skeptical about the flowering of the seeds, but we had our fingers crossed (yes, literally, and we made our students cross them too).
Till then, we decided to give our garden the final touches. Every class had their own boards on which they were to write their class details and the vegetables seeds they had sown to put in the organic patch.

8A writing on their board.

With an organic garden up and running, we decided it was time to give the students an introduction to nutrition. With our fast paced lives and change in lifestyles, wholesome foods are slowly being nudged out of the picture.