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Environmentalists say KidNaturalist programme best answer to draw children away from digital addiction
View(s):By Malaka Rodrigo
As World Children’s Day falls on October 1, the focus has fallen on the importance of getting more schoolgoing children to be a part of the KidNaturalist programme conducted by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to veer them away from digital over dependency.
Recent studies show that children spend more time on digital devices than ever before. A study in the US found that screen time of children aged 8–12 had increased by nearly 50% between 2015 and 2019, averaging almost five hours per day outside of school-related activities.
With the increased use of digital devices for educational purposes during the COVID pandemic,
Sri Lankan children too have become ‘digital addicts’ often without realising it.
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- Releasing butterflies raised from catepillars
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- Children can learn about Sri Lanka’s rich biodiversity in their own home gardens
The situation is expected to worsen, impacting younger generations further. To combat digital overdependence, a senior lecturer at the Open University, Dr. Jayantha Wattavidane, advocates encouraging children to reconnect with nature. “Exploring the natural world can serve as a balancing act,” he says.
Dr. Wattavidane, a respected academic, environmental scientist, and conservationist, highlights the rich biodiversity available in Sri Lanka, providing ample opportunities for children to explore. “In our own backyards, we can observe ants carrying food many times their size, colourful birds with unique songs, and various leaf shapes. There are also fascinating life cycles of butterflies and frogs to study. Encouraging children to explore their surroundings is crucial,” he adds.
In response to the need to reconnect with nature, the National Science Foundation (NSF) launched the ‘KidNaturalist’ programme during the COVID period.
Explaining the initiative, Head, Division of Science Communication and Outreach of NSF, Dr. Dilrukshi Ranathunga, says, “We introduced this programme when children were confined to their homes, to provide them an opportunity to connect with nature.”
Children in grades 1 to 6 were encouraged to observe interesting phenomena in their surroundings, document their observations systematically, and create a journal of their findings. “The programme received a fantastic response with children making remarkable observations of their own,” notes Dr. Ranathunga.
Following the success of the initial KidNaturalist programme, the NSF has decided to continue it. “This is more than just a competition. We no longer select who wins, but instead choose the top 10 projects from each age group to be named KidNaturalists,” Dr. Ranathunga told the Sunday Times.
Sarvodi Rathnasooriya, who is a teacher and mother of a 2023 KidNaturalist in the grade 5 category, shared her daughter’s experience: “The programme gave her a chance to learn how to document her observations systematically. She observed a nesting of Munia birds on our verandah and witnessed the challenges faced by the nest, including a cat’s attempt to hunt them and a rat snake’s predation.”
Dulithi Nethumsa from Sujatha Vidyalaya, Matara, documented the life cycle of Common Grass Yellow butterflies, which lay eggs on the Kathuru Murunga tree. “We collected green caterpillars, fed them Kathuru Murunga leaves daily, and raised over 100 butterflies during the project. We then released them back into the environment,” 10-year-old Nethumsa said.
There are many more interesting nature-related phenomena that KidNaturalists observed during the past few years, Dr. Ranathunga recounted. This type of interaction with and exposure to nature, besides being educational, will be relaxing and rewarding to children, and we believe that the KidNaturalist programme will produce nature lovers who are a rare breed today, Prof. Ranjith Senaratne, the chairperson of NSF, told the Sunday Times.
The KidNaturalists 2024 programme is currently underway, with the deadline for submissions extended to October 11 to allow those who sat for the grade 5 scholarship exam to participate. Dr. Ranathunga encourages children in grades 1 to 6 to find a project and work on a report. Interested parents can contact the NSF by calling 0112696771 (ext. 185).
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