Efforts of 1000-odd children to conserve the wild came through, in all their earnestness in content and form. 'Walk for Wildlife' rally, an inter-school Tiger Fest, organised by Kids for Tigers for students of schools from across the City, served as a perfect setting for the young to air their views on environmental and wildlife conservation.
Colourful posters, charts and hand-made crafts revolved around nature, man's mindless destruction of the same and how development can take place without disturbing and destroying the green cover. R V Harsha, a class nine student of Nagarjuna Vidyaniketan school, says he has built a game about environmental conservation.

Harsha's game depicted how electrical poles can be erected within a forest and transmission wires can be drawn without felling trees. "This game is a test of how you can develop the place without disrupting its surrounding. You don't necessarily have to fell trees to erect an electrical pole or even a building," explains Harsha.

Megha Bhat, his classmate, has given up using plastic covers. She uses hand-made files, books and paper to show her concern toward environmental conservation. While explaining why the Banyan tree is unique to India and narrating the religious sentiments attached to the tree, 13-year-old P Srikant, a seventh grade student of Apollo Convent, thinks it is the young who have to take up wildlife protection and water campaigns across the country.

"The onus to save the planet is on us. It's easy to destroy and destruct but difficult to preserve. We must think about the umpteen villages in our country who need the green cover to develop and progress. If we take that space away then where will the villagers go?" asks Srikant.

And who can take such a campaign and see its success better than the children, believes the coordinator of the programme Usha Ramaiah. She says the fest is an all-India one where paintings and suggestions of the children will be taken up seriously toward conserving forest cover. The more enthusiastic of the lot who wanted to make a lasting impression wore masks of flowers and birds. Some others had their faces painted like a tiger and leopard. They used natural colours like turmeric, ash and Kajal to do up their faces. "Research shows that there's a global decline in outdoor activities. Children tend to seat themselves before the computer and television rather than spend time amidst the greenery. Here we see that the kids have come out strongly with their views on conservation. That's because they've been given a platform to do that," says B M Krishna, an ecologist.

Dr Subramanya of the University of Agricultural Sciences, one of the judges at the event, said that there is so much talent and creativity among the young. "The children have researched the topic rather well. Even the masks and paintings are made from their imagination."

This festival was an attempt to create a platform for children to express their thoughts on saving India's big five — the tiger, the lion, the leopard, the elephant and the rhinoceros.