This module is specially designed for students living in vicinity of wilderness areas. However some of the activities mentioned can be conducted for the students living away from wilderness areas. Topics like Biodiversity and ecosystem are a part of syllabus that has been prepared for environmental science by NCERT for 9th and 10th std students. That can be taught with the help of this module.

1. Biodiversity and Life

2. Introduction
Biodiversity is studied from three perspectives.
1. Biodiversity as an expression of inner natural
processes
2. Biodiversity as an indicator of eco-systemic
health
3. Biodiversity as free ecological service for
humans and other beings

3. Historical perspective
• Prehistory
• Agriculture
• Agriculture in pre industrial era

4. Present challenge
• Hard technological interventions
• Non-productive use
• Industrialization
• Support agriculture or farming with eco-
systemic diversity. Biodiversity is an integrated
part of it.

5. Human cost
• Cultivation implies additional effort and
additional harm on the part of human beings.
Effort and harm increase manifold with
greater energy input , which is a hallmark of
modern era. Diversity provides alternatives.
Alternatives make lives rich. Thus the
objective of this topic is to enable students to
understand the value of biodiversity in living
safe, comfortable and joyous life.

6. Target group
This module is specially designed for students living in vicinity of wilderness
areas. However some of the activities mentioned can be conducted for the
students living away from wilderness areas.
14 years to 16 years.
Class size up to 40 students.
• Since this topic is designed to address the multiple subjects, time is not a
limitation.
Syllabus linkage
• Topics like Biodiversity and ecosystem are a part of syllabus that has been
prepared for environmental science by NCERT for 9th and 10th std
students. That can be taught with the help of this module.

7. Biodiversity
Language
(songs, poems
with local
names)
Natural
sciences (food
chain, soil life,
food web)
Social science
(equality,
festivals
related to
biodiversity)
History
(history of
mankind and
diversity)
Geography
(map overlaps,
showing
habitats foods)
Mathematics
(making bar
chart, creative
pie chart)

8. Activity
Studying uncultivated or wild food.
Details-
1. understanding difference between cultivated and uncultivated food.
2. understanding difference between processed and unprocessed food.
3. understanding seasonality.
4. understanding relation with eco systems
5. understanding problems or threats to biodiversity.
a. monoculture b. non productive use c. invasive species
d. over exploitation (cutting, grazing etc)
6. understanding food chain
7. understanding linkage with quality of life.
8. Regionalism (including endemism)
Objective – making life richer with improving quality of biodiversity.

9. Sub activities
1. making exhaustive list of processed and / or unprocessed forest food
2. organizing forest food exhibition / competition of forest food
3. recipe book of forest food.
4. calendar of forest food (showing seasonality)
5. in-situ protection of forest food species
6. ex-situ protection of forest food species (weeds and wild covering)
7. survey of market where forest food is sold (variety and value)
8.visits to different eco systems in surrounding areas
9. nutritional studies of forest food
10. mapping bio diversity.
11. collection of songs and poems containing local names of wild species
12. books with info on wild food (field guides, gazetteer, flora)
13. seed collection

10. Organizing wild food exhibition in
school.
Standard 9th Time – July or August
1. introduction in the class
- importance of wild food - experience sharing - back planning -
allotting responsibilities
2. home work
- gathering information from their parents and grandparents
- collecting information on plants that can be found in this season
- method of collecting, sorting, keeping
- recipe information
- actual cooking (if not unprocessed)

11. 3. actual exhibition
- arrangement - visit by parents teachers and
staff, nutrition expert - comments
4. visual and written documentation of all the
recipes.
Subjects addressed by this particular activity
- Natural sciences - Social sciences -
Geography - History - Languages

12. What do we learn
• Facts-
• Information –
• Skills –
• Knowledge –

13. Causal Diagram

14. General activities related to
biodiversity
1. Identify non-native species and observe if they are used by insects, birds and other animals
2. Identify nocturnal animals in your surroundings
3. Documentation of timber, NTFP, fuel and fodder and its processing & skill development.
4. Identifying food and host plants of butterflies and other insects.
5. Identifying fruit eating and insect eating birds. (Nesting, pray predator relationship, roosters,
migrants)
6. Problem of pest.
7. Studying grasses
8. Big mammal and its territory study
9. Top soil diversity study

15. Story
Child asked grandma, why do wild-boars trouble
us and eat up our farm. Why can’t we stop
them from entering in the field?
Grandma said, my child, we won’t do that
because they (wild boars) don’t understand
that this is a field. We started cultivating the
land, they did not. We can’t expect them to
follow what we do, can we?