Welcome to National Botanical Research Institute: NBRI Lucknow

R & D Area > Floriculture, Botanic Garden and Eco-education

Eco-education

Group Leader	Dr. Kamla Kulshreshtha, Sci 'C'
Contact	Work	91-522- 2205831-35 Ext. 353
	Home	91-522- 2349455
	Email	k.kulshrestha@nbri.res.in dr_kamla@rediffmail.com

Other Scientists of the Group

Mr. C. S. Mohanty, Scientist 'B'
Email: sekhar_cm2002@rediffmail.com

Group works on

Botanic gardens play a very important role in educating the common man about our environment, its protection and also act as show window of our unique biodiversity. They also promote the cause of conservation and sustainable development through judicious utilization of earth's resources. Environmental education fosters awareness of the natural and built environment: an understanding of environment, its concepts, conditions and issues. Awareness of the feelings, values, attitudes and perception is the heart of environmental education. This division has four main sections viz., garden for visually impaired and physically challenged, model theme garden, children's laboratory and outreach programme with bio village concept. The garden designed and developed for visually impaired and physically challenged is based on the senses of touch, feel and smell is equipped with the information about the plants in audio-Braille system. The model theme garden is established on the theme 'herb for all, health for all'. It consists of a nutritional garden, a medicinal herb garden and a garden for lesser-known edible fruits. This theme garden is designed and developed for providing information about the cultivation and utilization of rich, wholesome green seasonal vegetables and fruits for balanced nutrition and the medicinal garden is designed and developed to disseminate information about the plants used in primary health care. A laboratory for children is developed to motivate and encourage school children to develop interest and originality in operating, designing/fabricating novel instruments.

The scientists and volunteers of this division visits schools and colleges in rural and urban areas and villages' community and establish contact with students, womenfolk, farmers, artisans and housewives to educate them on environmental protection, health, hygiene and nutrition. Special training programmes, demonstrations and lectures are also organized to create awareness among them. After assessing the bioresources of the region and their utilization pattern, the social organization of the village, the socio-economic and techno economic capabilities of the villagers, the health and nutrition profile of the rural women and children and the health management of the villagers and the particular village may be adopted for intensive training.

Environmental education fosters awareness of the natural and built environment: an understanding of environment, its concepts, conditions and issues. Awareness of the feelings, values, attitudes and perception is the heart of environmental education. Botanic gardens are important centers for education. There are over 1,600 botanic gardens in the world, which between them, maintain the largest collection of plant species outside nature. In the wild as many as 60,000 of these plant species may be threatened with genetic impoverishment or even extinction within next 30-40 years. Threats include such factors as habitat loss and fragmentation, introduced species, over-exploitation of plant and animal species, pollution of soil, water and atmosphere, global climate change, industry, agriculture and forestry. But, gardens are uniquely placed to teach people about the incredible diversity and importance of plant in our lives and in the global ecosystem. By highlighting the threats that plants and habitats face, gardens can help people look at ways in which biodiversity can be protected. The activities of Eco-education Division of National Botanic Research Institute, Lucknow mainly focuses on:

Promote botanic gardens as resources for higher education and training through various short-term courses.
Present information to the public in a variety of ways through various booklets, pamphlets about the nutritional supplement, cultivation practices and traditional knowledge associated with the local plants.
Promote botanic gardens to the public as centers for information on plants: A unique sensory garden for visually handicapped and physically-disabled entails as garden for special need.
Encourage public debate on issues relating to plants through various activities like: lectures, drawing competitions, pledge writing etc. among the school children.
Ensure that the Garden’s message is clear and consistent.
Raise the status of education.

Education, training and Awareness

Promoting Botanic garden to appropriate for different development efforts. The overall activities are commenced by following ways as an eco-outreach programme in the rural areas. The activities followed by:

Training Module and literature preparation on conservation (ex situ and in situ ) and sustainable utilization of bioresources.
Popularization of model theme gardens of homestead kitchen and herbal gardens for providing nutritional security to the rural households.
Dissemination of the knowledge of biodiversity conservation and herbal healthcare system (preventive and promotive health care ethnic food) using audio visual aids and performing arts.

Home gardening can be greatly improved by enhancing the use of the garden for household food security and nutrition. Many people in rural villages lack the experience, knowledge and skill to make improvements. Sometimes they also lack appropriate planting materials. Knowledge and skills can be transferred by identifying successful home garden managers who are prepared to work with less successful or less Knowledgeable households, supported by agriculture extension staff. The need for planting materials can be managed by the respective managers on a commercial basis which is named as village level voluntary Organizers. Visible success is more persuasive than a thousand lectures. So an action oriented outreach programme is intended for an eco-village development by enhancing the household food security with an aim to:

Sustainable use or management of biological resources (Plants, animals and microorganisms) in one or more of the convention’s thematic areas.
Revitalization of traditional knowledge relating to the use of the biological diversity.
Community based management of biological resources.
Valuation of biological diversity.
Knowledge in social sciences and economics relevant to convention’s thematic area.

Garden–based bio resources training programmes organized round the year by the sponsorship of Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt. of India to the school children to create an appreciation of their surrounding environment where they live. Department of Science and Technology (DST) sponsors another eco-outreach programme among the rural community to develop nutrition garden to provide household food security in the locality. Above all, the Eco-education division aims at transforming the society into a greater perspective for nation development.