Programme for Natural Science students

Working title: Global Change Seminars
Location:        Grampari, Asia Plateau, Panchgani, Western India.

Vision

A new training programme at Asia Plateau is being developed in response to:

• the environmental and social challenges of the 21st century, particularly addressing issues such as climate change;

• the increasing demands on educational institutions to offer comprehensive and relevant environment training to their students;

• the need for additional frameworks for learning through consultation, interaction and experience, that can add value to formal education programmes in environmental, agricultural, and related sciences;

• the challenge of applying cultural, ethical and spiritual values to preserving the environment and achieving sustainability of life

• students’ search for life skills and experience that will equip them to make discerning decisions about career and vocational opportunities.

Goal

To achieve improved understanding of our changing world, and to envision and commit to a just and sustainable future.

Background

Asia Plateau is an established conference and training centre set on 31 hectares, 1350 m above sea level in the Western Ghats of India, overlooking the spectacular Krishna River Valley. Completed in the 1970s, the campus has accommodation for 200, meeting rooms, a 400 seat auditorium, workshops, and an 8 hectare farm. An ancient escarpment or tableland, the second largest feature of its kind in the world, dominates the campus at its southern perimeter. Developed on a series of impoverished land terraces, the campus now has over 10 hectares of recovering montane broadleaf cloud forest, large gardens and recreational areas. Owned by the MRA-Initiatives of Change educational trust (see in.iofc.org), Asia Plateau has become renowned for its inter-community programmes that encourage dialogue, reflection and reconciliation. Grampari, a rural and ecology centre, has been established as part of this campus.

Adjacent to the campus are a number of villages surrounded by upland, cultivated terraces, and the town of Panchgani, with its numerous schools and hotels.

Global Change Seminars

Under the proposal outlined here, a series of short interactive courses, ideally each covering 5 days, would be held, if possible in the post-monsoon period each year.

The programmes would be targeted at undergraduate natural science students or senior school students, but can be modified for use with other groups.

Style and themes

The style of the seminars will be interactive, using the tutorial/facilitator model, with a tutor or life coach for each of five following likely themes. About 1 to 1½ hours per day would be spent on each theme.

Theme 1
The challenges of a changing earth – earth systems and human impacts.
Facilitator: Natural science professional

Theme 2
The values and ethics of our common future. Life stories and personal journeys.
Among the topics (depending on qualifications and experience of facilitators):

• The role of values in human communities in creating equitable, authentic and ecological sustainability.

• Common ethics as personal motivators

• Value based policies and choices of action

• Resolving conflicts between sustainability and development objectives

• Beliefs, values, habits and customs that we want to transmit to future generations, in order to ensure a fulfilling and sustainable way of life for all.

Facilitators: Invited professionals and Initiatives of Change

Theme 3
Natural science project. Each student would be required to undertake a project aimed at understanding something of the natural history, biology, geography or socio-economic issues of the Western Ghats region, focussed on features accessible at or near-by Asia Plateau. The components of this theme would be a brief background survey, local observations and evaluation of current status. Knowledge gained would be summarized in a presentation to other course participants. The project would fit with the course curricula of participating universities or schools.

Facilitator: University professor, school teacher or equivalent.

Theme 4
Farm work (in line with Grampari centre development strategies, but may also involve serving local farmers – planting, harvesting, weeding, animal care and nutrition, seasonal work)

Facilitator: Asia Plateau Farm Manager

Theme 5
Re-creation. Emphasis on transcending personal limitations and developing cooperation and communities.

Facilitator: Recreation professional