Note: Once a month, NiF will give the Editor's seat to a child. This child will assign us stories that we must deliver to you. These can be stories on their favourite species, a travel destination in the great outdoors, or a conservation issue they might want to discuss and tell their friends about. What will this do? It serves three purposes:
One, it allows the child to think more deeply about the animals they like, why they enjoyed a particular nature spot, or even why they should think about conserving anything at all.
Two, it allows their parents to participate in larger conversations about wildlife with children, and even have (a lot) of fun in edit meetings because, well, these are by default chaotic. Throw a spirited child in the mix, and it becomes the most fun way to spend a morning.
Three, it allows a child to share these concerns and opinions with their friends and their parents. It sparks an interesting debate in their own circles, and makes them ambassadors for nature in their schools. Win win.
This month's Editor is Avni Meda, an eight-year-old from Bangalore, who assigned a piece on snakes in India. "Our school is in the middle of a big forest. So none of us get scared of snakes," she said. Avni often sees her teacher, an experienced snake catcher, release snakes who wander into the classroom back into the forest. She told us she is curious to know more about the fastest, the most colourful, and the most poisonous species of snakes.
She's also commissioned a story on weeds and stranglers. Avni has heard some disturbing things about weeds: "I read that when a forest gets filled with weeds all the animals go away. And however much you cut them, the more they grow," she said. She wants to learn about the impact these species have on our forests.
Over to the Editor.
A flappy ending – Eight-year-old Guest Editor Avni Meda writes about the time she went in search of Bar-headed Geese.
The long and the short of it – Herpetologist and National Geographic Adventurer Gerry Martin on his favourite subjects: snakes.
Weed this carefully – Journalist Shamsheer Yousaf explains why harmless-looking weeds are so dangerous for our forests.
Pssst! Coil up and read – Children’s book author Bijal Vachharajani picks out two books featuring our favourite slithery creatures.
