Nature engagements are never far from challenges. Interestingly, regardless of region or educator, these challenges remain remarkably similar, despite local nuances. When we meet during workshops, it creates a vital space to share, learn, and find reassurance that we are not alone in navigating these issues.
Over the last four months (April–July 2026), we engaged with a diverse group of educators across various landscapes, both in person and online. In April, we conducted a two-day online workshop with participants joining from across the country and a brief online session for a team at Cisco. This was followed in May by an online workshop in Hindi for bird enthusiasts from Bihar, and continued in June with a full-day, in-person workshop in Bengaluru for Teach for Nature fellows. Finally, in July, we had half-day workshops tailored for two separate groups of teachers from the Prakriya Green Wisdom School.
Each participant’s background varied significantly; while some had prior experience leading nature engagements, others were just starting out. Regardless of their experience level, all were eager to gather innovative, engaging activities and ideas to introduce children to nature through birds. Despite their varying contexts, the questions often came back to the fundamentals of execution.
The ‘How to Be a Birding Buddy’ workshops are designed to address the shared challenges every educator faces. Here is a glance at what we discussed during these workshops to help educators design their nature engagements!
Finding the golden window: When to plan?
Is there a right time to do nature engagements? Yes and no!
While you can always find ways to connect children with nature year-round, school vacations are the golden window. They offer a perfect solution for parents looking to utilise their children’s free time. Because summer breaks in India are the longest, they allow educators to organise deep, ongoing engagements rather than just one-off events—serving as the perfect launchpad for a year of nature-based activities.
That said, grabbing spontaneous opportunities throughout the year is just as important. Whether it is a weekend or a birthday party, seize every chance to connect children to the outdoors. Winters are also a phenomenal time for birdwatching, as many migratory birds arrive in India.
How to effectively break the ice?
The first of many hurdles when organising a session is navigating the first five minutes of meeting the group and capturing their attention.
Icebreakers do more than just introduce participants and facilitators; they act as an energiser and set the tone for the day. When thoughtfully planned, they can also deliver subtle learning outcomes that naturally set the context for the upcoming session.
In one of our workshops, we split the participants into smaller groups for introductions. Each person, alongside their name, shared one fascinating fact about their favourite bird, and the others had to guess the species. This exercise quickly introduced everyone to fun bird facts, transforming a typically mundane introduction round into a lively, interactive experience.
How do we cater to different learning styles?
Whether indoors or outdoors, the format of your content dictates how much the children will actually retain and how open they will be to the experience. Information bombarding eventually fades from a child’s memory. Games and hands-on activities are what survive the test of time because children learn best when their bodies are moving and all their senses are fully engaged.
Activities and games are incredibly versatile. They can be high-energy or require quiet reflection depending on your session needs. They can serve as an icebreaker, an energiser, a slowdown activity, or a core-concept lesson. Simple movement-based games like Act like a… or information-packed activities like Fact-or-Fiction serve as excellent energisers that have worked perfectly in both online and offline workshops. Similarly, games like Bird Survivor (All in a Bird’s Life) act as fantastic, high-energy conversation starters. On the flip side, nature journaling can help slow down a session and bring a sense of calm when needed—offering the double benefit of introducing structured observation.
A thoughtful mix of these activities creates space for children with different communication and learning styles to express themselves. While one child might express themselves through art, another might voice their reflections by speaking up, and a third might excel through creative writing, such as poetry. Building these multi-sensory opportunities into your session plan ensures that every child remains engaged and takes home an experience they truly enjoyed.
Does one have to be outdoors?
When interacting with educators from urban spaces, their main concern is easy access to a wetland or even a park. Does it mean nature education cannot happen without outdoor interactions? Can nature be successfully brought indoors?
Yes, it can be. An indoor introduction to nature is actually an excellent way to prepare children for what to expect when they eventually step outside. The experiences of several educators show that children who have pre-exposure to nature through indoor activities are much more observant in the field than those who are expected to do so directly outdoors. Therefore, curating activities and games that build the foundation of nature interactions is an invaluable first step.
Activities focused on bird sounds—such as describing bird sounds, creating mnemonics, or running audio quizzes—are fantastic ways to engage children indoors. While traditional lectures are often the go-to in classroom settings, interspersing them with interactive elements prevents the session from becoming monotonous and builds skills they will use outside.
How to manage the chaos of the outdoors?
Of course, getting children outside into nature is the ultimate goal, but the outdoors come with their own unique chaotic energy. Educators often worry about keeping a group focused when surrounded by endless distractions, unpredictable weather, or uncertainty about what they can see.
The secret to navigating this is preparation. Adjusting expectations and preparing children in advance with clear behavioural guidelines—such as practising ‘silent observations’ or using ‘deer ears’ to listen intently—turns potential chaos into a structured, adventurous game. Interestingly, prompting children to propose these guidelines themselves makes them far more likely to adhere to them. On occasions when you see fewer or no birds, you can shift the focus to other elements of nature, building stories around the interconnections within an ecosystem. In such cases, having backup games or activities also proves helpful. Ultimately, the goal is to adapt the session flexibly to sustain the spark of curiosity.
Ultimately, the most critical takeaway is a shift in perspective: nature education for children should be about building a bond, not carrying a burden. It is easy to accidentally weigh down young minds with environmental problems before they have had a chance to fall in love with nature. As educators, our role is to create a safe, open space for children to explore their curiosity freely. When we let them notice a fluffy feather, the rhythmic calls, or the determination of an ant, we allow them to build a joyful, personal relationship with the Earth.
Happy exploring, and here’s to nurturing curious nature buddies!
If you want to host a Birding Buddy workshop for your organisation or school, please email us at earlybird@ncf-india.org.