New club to help children connect with nature |12 December 2022
Dr Henriette
Children from the Bel Ombre community have joined together to launch the Little Explorers Club under the guidance of Dr Elvina Henriette.
Little Explorers Club’s main vision is to have a Seychelles where all youths connect with nature for inspiration, wellbeing and success, and where they take action for its protection.
During the launch of the club at the Bel Ombre district administration office, Dr Henriette, who is a conservation biologist, the director of Gaea Seychelles / Conservation Manager Island Biodiversity Conservation Centre / Programme Manager Terrestrial Restoration Action Society of Seychelles, explained that “the Little Explorers Club is an educational and awareness-oriented kids club which seeks to encourage children to ‘get in touch’ with nature, through an inquisitive lens and meaningful interactions. The aim is to reconnect children with nature and encourage exploration through their own eyes and experiences”.
Dr Henriette also explained that the rationale prompting the launch of the club was that there is a general perception that many children in today’s societies are not engaging with the natural world.
“Nature provides countless opportunities for discovery, creativity, problem-solving, and education. Interacting with natural environments allows children to learn by doing and experimenting with ideas. Moreover, the club is also bringing ‘citizen science’ into play, where the children can learn how to collect and analyse data that could essentially be used in science projects, conservation and management,” Dr Henriette shared.
The club is targeting kids from the ages of 4 to 12 years, prompting them to explore their surroundings and question the functioning of the natural world. The guiding principle is to use our natural surroundings as a classroom and employ interactive learning techniques to educate them about nature and its importance in our survival.
The club is operated by members of Gaea Seychelles in collaboration with the Terrestrial Restoration Action Society of Seychelles (Trass) and Educate to Connect (E2C), comprising of qualified and experienced members and associates in the environmental field, sustainability, natural science and communication and awareness.
The members of Little Explorers Praslin also joined the new group for their launch and the event had some fun performances.
To conclude the event, the children guided the guests to their small garden within the compound of the DA’s office and explained to us the different plants that they were able to plant.
The event was graced by the presence of the member of the National Assembly for Bel Ombre Sandy Arissol, the district administrator, members of the club and some parents.
The accompanying photos show some highlights of the event.
Vidya Gappy
Photos: Joena Meme
