26 October,2017 08:30 AM IST | Mumbai | Dhara Vora Sabhnani
Nudge your little ones to explore nature at this bugs and butterflies workshop and trail inside SGNP
This Sunday, help your kids become one with nature by signing them up for the Little Mowgli workshop. Organised by Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), the trail-cum-workshop will be conducted by nature interpreter Prachi Galange. The area covered will be the Shilonda trail inside the national park, which is a flat walk and ideal for beginners. The focus of this edition will be insects and butterflies.
"People are fearful or dismissive of insects since we consider them harmful. We kill harmless ants when we spot them. But insects make for a huge number in the ecosystem, such that they form the basis of all higher life. The food supply of several birds depends on insects. If the insects are gone, the birds are gone. Many insects depend on other insects for their survival. They are also good pollinators. For example, if the number of bees goes down, food production will drop too," explains Galange, emphasising the need to sensitise children to these little creatures.
The workshop will also discuss other insect-nature associations, such as those with plants. "If we spot a butterfly on a flower, we will talk about the kind of flower it is and how it hosts the insect, while also discussing its life cycle," says Galange.
Prachi Galange
Common insects that can be spotted this month include the red silk cotton bug, jewel beetle, praying mantis and lots of butterflies. Galange will discuss their nesting patterns and social structure too. And for the kids to remember what they have learnt, the workshop will end with a fun game of flash cards where two groups will play a guessing game of identifying insects based on clues.
ON: October 29, 9 am to 2 pm
AGE GROUP: six to 12 years
AT: Nature Information Centre, Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Borivli East.
LOG ON TO: facebook.com/ SanjayGandhiNationalPark
COST: Rs 650
