Report of Nature Walk to Okhla Bird Sanctuary on the occasion of world’s wetland day

On the occasion of world’s wetland day on 2nd February 2023 , our school organized a nature walk to the famous Okhla Bird Sanctuary, it was led by our teachers Ms. Namita Bhagat and Mr. Amit Jaiswal, our guides were Mr. Animesh Kapoor, Mr. Rakesh Khatri and Mr. Nipun Kaushik, who are all eminent environmentalists.

It was a lovely winter day, the sun was shining high, and the mellow breeze set the mood for an ideal walk. And so there we were, the inquisitive students of Ahlcon International School, in the beautiful landscape of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary, for an informative walk. The walk started under the boughs of Peepal, Banyan, Keekar, and Palm trees, where we saw the unique relationship between a peepal tree and a palm tree. The peepal tree had enclosed the palm tree’s bark in its grasp and had wound itself around it like a thick vine. We were informed by our guide and our teachers that the Peepal tree was actually extracting nutrients from the Palm tree and restricting its growth. After marvelling at this phenomena, we headed forward and found ourselves surrounded by a crowd of Napier grass. The low lying water in which the Napier grass grew also contained several water lilies, which we observed as we were crossing the wooden bridge. On the other side of the bridge lay a beautiful sight- Napier grass and vegetation stretched across as far as the eye could see. Contrasting against the bright blue sky, the sanctuary truly looked like a green desert.

Low lying water surrounded the paths we walked on and we observed the fresh green algae as we walked in the direction of a bird lookout. Our guide was gracious enough to provide us with high-power binoculars which are especially used for bird watching. We stepped on to the tall lookout in groups of six and took the binoculars. The view from the lookout was beyond breathtaking, the greenery framed the blue expanse of the pond and looked surreal. The ducks swam swiftly in the water and we watched a flock move around gracefully through the binoculars. The moment was made perfect with the soft sounds of water splashing around and the calls of ducks and the other animals nearby. The breeze was just perfect, and the air that filled our lungs felt nothing like the polluted air of metropolitan Delhi. After we all were done with admiring the scenery, we walked through the sanctuary, attentively listening to our guide and trying to spot birds and other creatures. We saw a few nilgais munching on fresh grass and some of us clicked their pictures. Moving on, we took a long walk through the sanctuary on a newly built road. We were greeted by unique species of birds, squirrels and some goats on our way. We stopped to rest and played a most entertaining guessing game. Through this game, we learnt a lot about owls, frogs, and snakes. On our way back, we admired and appreciated the lovely Okhla Bird Sanctuary before stepping back into our bus.

 

It was truly a magnificent learning experience for all the enthusiastic students and we learnt more about nature than we ever could from textbooks. A first- hand experience was exactly what we needed in order to understand the importance of sanctuaries and the conservation of wildlife.

We thanks our principal Mr. Sanjay Yadav, our H.M Senior School, Mr. Puneet Duggal and our AHM Ms. Sunanda Kumar for giving us this opportunity where learning was fun.

 

Report by-

Ms. Namita Bhagat

Reva Upadhyaya