Kitchen Gardens
In 2025–26, the Shillim Institute launched the Kitchen Garden Program for Schools, nurturing environmental stewardship among young learners in the Mawal region. This initiative establishes kitchen gardens at three schools—Zilla Parishad School, Kadadhe; Zilla Parishad School, Varu; and Sankalp English Medium School, Pawana Nagar- aligning with Maharashtra’s Majhi Vasundhara Abhiyan to promote ecological restoration and sustainable living.
Objectives
- Enhances food security through vegetables like pumpkins, drumsticks, eggplants, chillies, tomatoes, and onions for mid-day meals.
- Promotes sustainable livelihoods by exposing students to farming practices vital for community wellbeing.
- Strengthens environmental awareness as living classrooms for ecological cycles and resource mindfulness
Bicycle Distribution
In 2025–26, the Shillim Institute distributed 12 bicycles to schoolchildren in the Mawal region, empowering access to education amid challenging hilly terrain and monsoon conditions. Beneficiaries from Zilla Parishad School, Varu; Zilla Parishad School, Kothurne; and Zilla Parishad School, Malvandi each received four bicycles to ease travel, reduce fatigue, and ensure regular attendance.
Impact
- Enhances mobility for young learners navigating the Western Ghats landscape.
- Supports sustainable community development by overcoming ecological barriers to education.
- Aligns with broader efforts integrating education, wellbeing, and harmony with nature.
Green Trail Naturalist Training Program
The Green Trail Naturalist Training Program reflects Shillim Institute’s commitment to nurturing ecological understanding and stewardship among youth in the Western Ghats. Over seven weeks, 13 participants engaged in immersive field-based learning on the geology, flora, insects, reptiles and amphibians, birds, and mammals of the Shillim landscape, guided by scientists and researchers from organisations such as the Mitrakida Foundation, Bhavatal, and the Wildlife Conservation Trust. The Shillim Valley became a living classroom where each session revealed the interconnectedness of local ecosystems and life forms. Centered on curiosity and wonder, the programme encourages young people to view their surroundings as a thriving ecosystem to be studied, protected, and celebrated, cultivating future environmental leaders grounded in local knowledge and informed by wider perspectives.
