On International Day for Biological Diversity 2022, the Wildlife Institute of India - Category 2 Centre facilitated an inclusive and equal opportunity campus walk for a mixed group of students and interested visitors in WII. It was a celebration of diversity of learning while exploring the importance of biodiversity. Students from the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (Divyangjan) and the Bajaj Institute Of Learning For Deaf Children, both Dehradun based, represented the eager school student community who through their sign language interpretation and movement assistance revelled in the introduction to campus biodiversity led by Dr. Gautam Talukdar, Faculty In-Charge, WII-C2C and Dr. R. Suresh Kumar.

Accompanying the students were a small group of volunteers from the Been There Doon That (BTDT) community which has been pioneering heritage walks in the Doon Valley region. The total group size approximately 50. The visitors got to sample the texture, smells, sounds and associated ecological stories of leaves, bark and birds among others. The group explored the WII trail pausing at various habitats and features like termite mounds and the pond to understand the intricate working of ecosystems which are often not discussed enough. As interviews for the Divyangan radio station and an impromptu quiz of the students revealed, every bit of information shared was absorbed with deep interest and the cause of protecting biodiversity significantly strengthened through communication in new and old channels.