Education
School Visits
Ecological Horticulture Course
Training programs
Wildlife Cabin
Forest Moots
Through engaging experiences tailored to different ages and interests, students discover native plants, medicinal species and sustainable technologies such as solar panels and wind energy. Above all, we aim to create happy memories of nature and inspire a positive sense of action and responsibility towards the environment.
School visits
Last year, more than 3,000 students visited the Gardens through around 100 school visits and several 2–3-day camps. Children from schools across the surrounding bioregion, as well as from elsewhere in India, took part in interactive, hands-on activities designed to foster curiosity, appreciation and care for the natural world. Visits for government schools were fully funded by the Gardens, including transport and lunch.
Nature Club at the Wildlife Cabin
Plants and animals are deeply interconnected. Through our developing Wildlife Cabin and Nature Club activities, we help young people discover and understand the wildlife of our bioregion, past and present, including the animals themselves and the traces they leave behind.
Learning through play and arts and crafts is central to our approach. Activities include Butterfly Bingo, extended to dragonflies and damselflies, ants and other groups; a Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF) Memory Game; wildlife-track posters; and our popular Birds Game, featuring the songs of 30 local species. We are also exploring new hands-on activities, including wildlife scat identification, plaster footprints and seed crafts, to encourage curiosity and deepen children’s understanding of local wildlife and ecology.
Ecological Horticulture Course
For five years, the Auroville Botanical Gardens has offered an annual Ecological Horticulture Course lasting one to four months. The program trains future professionals to lead conservation and restoration projects by combining knowledge of plant biology and ecosystems with practical, hands-on experience.
Drawing on the expertise of experienced practitioners in horticulture, landscaping, arboriculture, forestry, geology, soil science and project management, the course shares a wealth of knowledge and field experience to promote best practices in ecological restoration and habitat conservation.
Words from the participants
Awareness and Training programs
Our awareness and training programs encourage the exchange of knowledge and strengthen local capacity for conservation. Visits by local women’s groups are particularly enriching: participants share their knowledge of medicinal plants and religious offerings while discovering new species and appreciating the diversity and beauty of the Gardens.
We also collaborate with organisations such as the Forest Department to promote awareness of native species and their conservation. Through environmental education training for teachers, we build on existing knowledge and provide practical examples, helping educators translate environmental concerns into meaningful learning experiences for their students. These connections often inspire teachers to return to the Gardens with their classes, extending the impact of our work.
Co-creating knowledge capacity building – native species conservation
Forest Moots
Over the past two years, we have organised Forest Moots, thematic gatherings that bring together people from Auroville and beyond to explore the relationships between trees, nature and culture. Combining artistic expression, presentations and social exchange over one or two days, these events create space for shared learning, dialogue and celebration.
