A Biodiversity Competition is held in every village during a shodhyatra. The concern for conservation of biodiversity and its sustainable utilization has to
be developed among the children at a young age so that their attitudes in this regard can be molded. Children in a village school are informed about the competition a few weeks in advance. Each child is told to bring on the appointed date, a list of as many plants as he/she can, identify their uses after talking to grandparents, neighbors or whoever, and collect samples in the case of plants, which are not endangered. They are given points on the basis of each criterion and are also quizzed to find out whether they remember some of the things that they have written. e top rankers are given prizes and social applause. Such competitions invariably lead to a process of ‘knowledge churning’ in villages. Read more