GIST team held a day long workshop on the value of nature based on visual material and discussions around the concept of “ecosystem services”, those benefits that we receive daily for free from nature. Children were keen on sharing their views on what nature meant for them and how they personally benefit from it every day, from playing to the park to drinking freshwater, eating fruits, admiring beautiful animals and plants and so on. They were very interested in learning about other services such as the role of bees in the pollination process or the role of wetlands in providing clean water.

The discussions were followed by games that children played in teams. They learnt about deforestation or the different uses of wild medicinal plants in Indian traditional medicines, while having fun together. In order to conclude the workshop, GIST team raised awareness about the importance of protecting the ecosystems and the various ways to achieve it.