ib learning expedition to the land of islands-andanam & nicobar islands
TRANSCRIPT
IB LEARNING EXPEDITION TO THE LAND OF ISLANDS ANDANAM & NICOBAR ISLANDS FIELD TRIP
20TH DEC-26TH DEC, 2014 GEOGRAPHY, ESS, EVM & GP STUDENTS
K.GURU CHARAN KUMARIB ,IGCSE & MYP Environmental ScienceIB ESS Paper 1&2 Assist ExaminerIB ESS IA ExaminerIB World Student Conference-GAT Leader
About our IB Expedition Journey This December(2014), a few Pathwazians from 9th and 11th
grade, boarded a plane to Port Blair in the Land of Islands, Andaman’s with eager spirits, anticipating the chance to explore the exotic group of islands, which number 552 in total!
In a matter of one week, it was unbelievable that we managed to capture the true essence of an entire Union Territory which is a tourist hot spot and is well known for its environmental offerings to the rest of the world.
About our IB Expedition Journey We began our fieldwork with a visit to the monuments with
great historic significance in Andaman – one of which was the Cellular Jail where we were given a tour of the Gallows and prison cells which housed Political Prisoners of the late 19th Century and is more popularly known to the world as ‘Kaala Pani’ which literally translates into ‘exile’.
We also saw a light and sound show regarding the same, where the prison ground spectacularly turned into a theatre. We also visited the Tsunami Memorial which commemorated the Tsunami that had wreaked havoc in the A & N islands on 26th December 2004, a decade ago.
About our IB Expedition Journey Andaman has several geographical wonders as well which we
were fortunate enough to have an opportunity to see, namely the limestone caves of Yeratta and the mud volcano of Jol Tikrey.
The mud volcano and limestone caves contributed greatly to the coursework and internal assessments that the students were collecting data for, as we gathered information pertaining to the mud’s mineral content, the preparedness of village communities which live in areas of active natural hazards and the social impact of tourism there.
About our IB Expedition Journey We met several significant people in Andaman’s society such as
Ms. Ratna Kanan, Chairperson of RWA of Andaman & Nicobar Islands who enlightened us regarding the current social issues in Andaman, as well as the measures taken to create awareness about them.
Mr. Sonny Thomas was another person we were glad to have encountered as he was the head of the Zila Prashad and was instrumental in setting up some of our surveys in the villages for Bengali Migrants. Bengali migrants have settled in the Andaman for the east Bengal early 1975.
He informed us of the difficulties faced by the Bengali Migrant villagers in their daily life such as the amenities provided by the government including the health facilities and accessibility of drinking water.
About our IB Expedition Journey Fortunately the Karen community, who settled in the Andaman’s from
Myanmar, proved to be much more interactive and we conducted many productive surveys in their village.
We had a special session with a Youth Pastor there from whom it was learnt that 12 families of their tribe had come settle here in 1925 and has expanded to 200 ever since.
The data related to the people and their lives was just as valuable as the environmental data collected in the river study, a coral study and even tests of pH and soil temperature in mangrove cultivation were conducted! We later walked through the Dhani Nallah, the longest mangrove walkway in India!
There was a vast variety of mangrove trees to observe and study, such as Black Mangroves with Red Flowers, Palm Mangroves, and Cedar Mangroves etc. It was interesting to know that the roots of Mangroves have adaptations like Pneumatophores and Stilt roots which make them true survivors in this saline environment.
About our IB Expedition Journey
We also had the tribal groups of Jarawas and Ongis on our list, but we couldn’t manage to get a glimpse of them!
The rarity of this experience cannot be emphasized enough as the Jarawas are an elusive tribe which is hidden in the jungles of North and Middle Andaman, who do not keep contact with other humans and continue to live as a small tribe of hunter-gatherers, glad in their isolation.
Perhaps, this is the very definition of a ‘tribe’, someone who is not in the mainstream. It is very easy and rather disturbing to see how, Indigenous tribes are being affected by the advances of urbanisation, in today’s world.
About our IB Expedition Journey We celebrated Christmas by praying at the Stella Marie Church
and also paid a visit to the Murugan Temple. We wanted to give back to society as well, so we spent time with orphans in the Mother Teresa Home and gifted them school bags which we specially bought from Delhi.
Though the trip was extremely in hectic and packed with data collection, we had some fun trips too where we went to the beach at Ross & Smith and the Water Complex at Port Blair where we attempted a ‘sea walk’.
The sea walk was a guided activity in which we were taken to the depths of the sea and were able to walk on the sea floor, as we enjoyed corals, anemones and fish which were teeming all around us. Later, we went souvenir shopping to Aberdeen Bazaar as well.
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Made by
K.Guru Charan kumar,ESS Teacher, India MYP Teacher
IGCSE EVM Teacher
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For more visit our website:http://andamannicobarfieldtrip2014.weebly.com
You Tube Link about our trip:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl9Zm_KbKho
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