Research Article: Karanth, K. K., Unnikrishnan, S., & Salazar, G. (2025). From classrooms to conservation: scaling environmental education across India’s Western Ghats. Frontiers in Conservation Science, 6, 1659491. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2025.1659491 (researchgate.net)

Blog Author: Dr. Sruthi Unnikrishnan

Key highlights: 

• Wild Shaale, an experiential, story-based environmental education program, was tested across Goa, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu to determine if a single model could be effective in diverse settings.

• Students showed significant improvements in ecological knowledge and safety behaviour knowledge in all three states, with smaller positive shifts in environmental attitudes, highlighting that well-designed educational programs can improve understanding of coexistence.

• Baseline attitudes and knowledge differed across regions, where students in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu showed more positive attitudes toward wildlife than those in Goa, while Tamil Nadu students had the lowest initial knowledge scores. 

• Despite these regional differences, the program produced consistently positive learning outcomes. This demonstrates that an adaptable EE program can function effectively across diverse socio-ecological settings.

• Overall, the study shows that Wild Shaale is a scalable, context-responsive environmental education model capable of supporting coexistence in biodiversity hotspots.

Biodiversity hotspots are some of the most extraordinary places on Earth. They support exceptional ecological richness, yet they are also home to dense human populations. In India’s Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage region, forests, farms, and villages exist side by side. This proximity can lead to frequent encounters between people and wildlife, from elephants wandering into fields to leopards moving through plantations. These moments are not just ecological events; they shape daily life, livelihoods, and safety. 

Human-wildlife conflict is often approached from policy, land-use, and conservation science perspectives. But one of the most powerful tools for reducing conflict often receives less attention: environmental education (EE), especially in the context of scalability. When children understand how ecosystems work, why animals behave the way they do, and how to respond safely during encounters, they become ambassadors for coexistence, both now and in the future. Yet implementing EE at scale in culturally diverse regions is challenging. What works in one place may not resonate in another.

To address this challenge, we developed Wild Shaale, an experiential learning program delivered in government schools across three states: Goa, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. From June 2022 to February 2023, the program reached 7,381 students from 200 schools located near 11 wildlife reserves. Our objective was simple: to test whether a single, adaptable environmental education program could succeed across the varied cultural, ecological, and political landscapes of the Western Ghats.

What we uncovered was both encouraging and revealing. Across all three states, the students showed notable gains in environmental knowledge as well as knowledge of safety behaviours. These improvements reflect the strength of experiential, story-driven learning approaches that make abstract ecological concepts relatable to children. Before the program even began, students in all states expressed positive attitudes towards wildlife, which was a very encouraging observation. These attitudes improved slightly after participation, but the smaller change makes sense, as there was less room for growth. The baseline attitude and knowledge level of children varied across states, showing that students entered the program with different histories and experiences, as is to be expected. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu students, while Tamil Nadu students had the lowest initial levels of environmental knowledge. Despite these differences, all states showed clear learning gains, indicating that an adaptable program, when locally contextualized, can work across diverse socio-ecological conditions. 

Human-wildlife conflict is as much a social issue as it is an ecological one. As landscapes continue to change, the ability of communities to live alongside wildlife depends on shared understanding, awareness, and empathy. Schools, especially government schools, are uniquely positioned to reach the next generation of citizens who will shape India’s conservation future. Wild Shaale demonstrates that environmental education, when thoughtfully designed, can be an effective tool for strengthening coexistence across entire landscapes. It shows that children are not just passive recipients of information, but active participants in shaping a more harmonious future for people and wildlife. 

You can access the original article here.

Keywords: environmental education, Western Ghats, Wild Shaale, conservation education, experiential learning, human-wildlife conflict, India, biodiversity hotspot