Children learn to balance on a rope during a summer camp organised by Wilded in association with Laya Green Ventures at the Eastern Ghats Biodiversity Centre in Visakhapatnam.
| Photo Credit: K.R. DEEPAK
A six-week nature-based summer camp aimed at encouraging children to reconnect with the outdoors is under way at the Eastern Ghats Biodiversity Centre in PM Palem under the banner of ‘Wilded’, a nature education initiative.
Conducted in collaboration with the Forest Department, the camp began on April 27 and will continue till June 5. Organisers said the programme combines outdoor learning, exploration and creative activities through weekly themes such as Trees and Gardening, Bushcraft Skills, Bird Wonders, Marine Explorers, Cartography and DIY Maker Lab.
Speaking about the initiative, Wilded founder Vimal Raj said that the idea behind the programme was to foster a deeper engagement with nature through experience-based learning. Mr. Raj said the camp moved beyond classroom-style instruction. “If you have to learn about a tree, you also need to climb it and sometimes even build a tree house,” he said.
According to him, children attending the camp spend their mornings outdoors identifying birds, observing flora and fauna, climbing trees and learning bushcraft skills, before moving indoors later in the day for art, craft, music and other activities.
“The learning happens in a very lived and engaging way,” he said, adding that the camp also gives children an opportunity to spend more time outdoors, away from screens and structured routines.
Published – May 07, 2026 07:47 pm IST