Students visit to Kaluveli bioregion
Students are taken on an exposure visit to the bio-region. An introduction is given in the class room a week before the visit. During the visit forests and wetlands are mainly covered. The students are exposed to the biodiversity within these ecosystems. Some of the unique fauna are discussed in detail with children, eg. bats, flying fox and migratory birds of the wetlands. Forests with tropical dry evergreen species and sacred groves in the villages are also covered during this trip.
Environment Awareness programme through Theru Koothu
Students perform Theru Koothu– a traditional theater form, taking environmental themes. These themes could include aspects concerning water pollution, importance of forests, waste disposal. Conducted with costume, music and performed for a larger audience, these plays attract many students and village people. They are also appreciated by the Education department, reported in newspapers giving the event a larger coverage.
School children mapping their village
In this activity, the students are taught about creating a base map of their village. They learn to draw out main community infrastructure like roads, schools, playground, water bodies, shops, markets, temples and health services. They identify places where big trees are and streets with houses. These maps are drawn on the ground with chalk or color powders. Elders in the village are asked to comment and make corrections. Children learn how to map using direction, scales and codes. They also learn about their village through this activity.
Know your Herbs – Herbal Class for Students
This activity is conducted with students in schools to build awareness on local herbal plants and their uses. They practically identify species found commonly in the school campus and in the school’s herbal garden. Some games related to medicinal plants are conducted. Group discussions and outdoor activities keep children interested. Education materials like posters, cards and photos are used for this activity. Children also learn how to make herbal teas. The learning outcomes are related to knowledge on local herbs and their uses for common ailments. There is increased motivation to grow medicinal plants in home and school gardens.
Chetpet Eco Park, Chennai
This was a project initiated by the Fisheries Department of Tamil Nadu which PFC facilitated in the beginning. Later during the execution phase the contractor involved PFC to create sculptures of creatures in stone, ferrocement and metal.
Pitchavarm Mangrove Forest
Home to one of India’s largest and most important mangrove ecosystems, Pichavaram in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu has long mesmerised visitors with its spectacular maze of narrow waterways and overhanging mangroves.
The art department at Pitchandikulam is delighted to have helped design and create an interpretation centre on the site, on commission from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department.
The project consisted of two parts:
- an interpretation centre, with over a dozen artworks and a permanent exhibition on the biodiversity of the mangrove ecosystem
- a nature trail aimed at schoolchildren and tourists with nine carved stone pillars and seven kadappu stone slabs with oil paintings and information on local birds, marine life and distinctive botanical features such as the Rhizophora species of mangrove trees.
Over a dozen artworks were made for the mangrove interpretation centre, including a beautiful sea turtle who now takes pride of place hanging from the ceiling, and a complex five foot painted sculpture of a rhizophora mangrove tree, complete with roots.
Department of Forests and Wildlife, Puducherry
This involved showcasing the four common venomous snakes of peninsular India (Spectacled Cobra, Indian Krait, Russell’s Viper and Saw-Scaled Viper) and their likeness for the education of the general public. We created life sized sculptures of nine snakes for an outdoor public space, in addition to interpretative signage.
Snake Park, Chennai
This project involved the creation of life sized models of various snakes and lizards.The challenge was to be as taxonomically accurate as possible as the models had to undergo scrutiny by top herpetologists and other wildlife biologists. In addition the models had to depict life styles of the animals that one would not observe unless one spent considerable time observing them in the wild. This was one of Pitchandikulam’s most satisfying projects as it passed muster in both the strict scientific as well as the art fields.
Gass Forest Museum, Coimbatore
This is one of the oldest museums in the country. We were commissioned to refurbish the museum and give it a more aesthetically appealing look without compromising the existing collections in the museum. The work needed quite a bit of ingenuity and involved the creation of life-sized sculptures of large animals, interpretative signage, indoor landscaping, refurbishing of antique furniture and models, and the cleaning and remounting of the hundreds of animal trophies and skins contained in the collection.
The highlight of the exhibition space is a three dimensional diorama, approximately 25m x 3m, of a rocky forest landscape complete with sculptures of a tiger, a family of lion-tailed macaques, an Indian python swallowing a spotted deer, a king cobra, and a ficus tree amongst many other minor items. A stuffed gaur (Indian bison), presented by the Maharaja of Mysore, and a few other fully stuffed specimens were also used to give a realistic feel to the exhibition.
There’s a good article from the Hindu on the reopening of the museum here.
