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Mountain Camps at Mount Abu
As
part of the ongoing outdoor educational programmes,
Sundarvan organized Mountain camps from 11-30 April
2006 at Mount Abu. Three groups involving about 120
members participated in it. Sundarvan, CEE's Nature
Discovery Centre, acts as a catalyst and stimulant to
start a process of enquiry into nature.
The three group comprised of members
from Youth Hostel Association of India, a group of tribal
boys and school students
The first group was from Youth Hostel
Association of India (YHAI), which consisted mainly
of students of classes 10 and 12. The camping experience
at Mount Abu was an activity-filled enjoyable break
for the participants after the long sedentary academic
year. Some of the tougher participants spent a night
under the open sky on top of a mountain. The 360-degree
view from the mountain top, made sun-rise and sun-set
viewable at the turn of the head, standing at the same
point. The lessons in star gazing and constellation
identification were learnt amidst gusty winds and considerable
chill.
The second group, consisting of 25
tribal boys from Sembalpaani - Ambaji was a joy to be
with. They knew most of the trees and the birds, and
kept singing tribal songs, matching them with rhythmic
dancing steps. The boys undertook a difficult trek to
Gautam Rushi temple, which is at the edge of a cliff,
and spent a night in a cave.
The third group was an open batch,
which had 48 students from different schools, who participated
in the Adventure Camp. The students engaged in rock
climbing, treks in the forest, sentry duty at night,
star gazing, painting, and group activities. A flock
of Green Munias, and another of Red-wattled Lapwing
chicks became quite popular with the kids, and as the
icing on the cake, a sloth bear made a guest appearance
on the last evening, making the camp a memorable experience
for the participants.
The camps at Mt. Abu continued
in the first part of May, with two more groups attending
the camp. The first group consisted of 27 Harijan boys
from Anand district. Rock climbing, abseiling, treks,
group activities, campfire games, painting, star gazing
etc. were all done with great enthusiasm. The second
group from South Gujarat also went through the same
activities.
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