Over 125 children, including five from Nepal, within the age group of 11-14 years left for Abbottabad on Monday for the boot camp of 12th National Children’s Mountain Conservation Meet (NCMCM).
The 10-day long nature conservation meet is an annual feature of the Adventure Foundation Pakistan (AFP) that aims to inculcate love for nature among the children. During the activity the participants of the meet will visit different parts of Ayubia National Park and conduct nature conservation activities under the supervision of environmentalists and nature conservationists.
NCMCM National Coordinator Muhammad Ikram said the project was launched on the occasion of International Year of Mountains in 2002 with a view to create awareness among children about the mountain ecosystems and to involve them in meaningful activities using the natural environment as an open classroom.
He said following the procedure adopted in the previous years, as many as 120 children were selected from different parts of the four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir on merit.
The children who attend the Meet are given the title of “Eco-Guards” giving them confidence to play an active role in their day to day life to create awareness about protection of natural environment and its important role in our daily life. This educational expedition involves young children in an action-oriented form of learning about the natural environment and its related problems. Eventually it makes them conscious of conserving and preserving natural environment by undertaking micro level projects in their communities and schools. The selected participants are supported and sponsored by different organizations including Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), WWF- Pakistan, Fauji Fertilizer Company, Coca-Cola Pakistan, Forest and Wildlife Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
More than 1,200 young participants and 300 staff members from all over the country have benefited from this unique environmental education programme. All the participants will also take part in the National Children Mountain Forum on July 3. At the forum, the children will make presentations about the theme of the meet and share their experiences of camp activities with the audience.
