Learning about the importance of mangroves conservation and sustainability through Play

Our student volunteer, Rehan, conducted a workshop at Toybank’s Play Center on December 7, 2019. He created informational booklets for children about Mumbai’s endangered mangroves and its on-going ravaging by mankind. The Sewri mudflats and the Shilonda Trail at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park were the two sites he focused on.

The children learned about the unique flora and fauna present in these two regions and the resulting inter-dependent ecosystem created. He also addressed the problems of urbanization and how infrastructure projects were causing trees to be cut leading to terrible consequences, like the habitat of flamingos and woodpeckers in danger.

A sense of scientific inquiry was instilled through this environmental workshop as the children learnt to ask important questions about what they can do to help improve the current environmental situation. The booklets were made in Hindi, a language that the children were comfortable learning with.

Flashcards play a huge role in our Play Centers. The children absolutely love learning using this method as it sparks their visual memory and they quickly grasp information that otherwise takes more time when learned through textbooks. Taking inspiration from this, Rehan smartly designed flashcards on his laptop to discuss the topic of sustainability in an engaging manner. He discussed water conservation while brushing and bathing. How to sustainably use the tap when brushing your teeth and have a bucket bath over a shower was advised.