Engaging students in hands-on learning is the key to forging a lasting connection with nature. This is the heart of Teka Samuha Nepal’s (TSN) education program, which blends classroom instruction with immersive experiences such as Snow Leopard Scouts camp. It allows participants a unique opportunity to connect to the mountain ecosystem and develop a strong bond with the region’s apex predator, the snow leopard.

This year, TSN conducted an impactful two-day camp, bringing together students, teachers, and community members with conservationists.

Snow Leopard Scout Sajal was enthusiastic about his camp experience and was eager to share what he had learned with his classmates – Photo: TSN/SLC

This was the first year that Sajal, a 7th-grader from the Village of Marpha in the Mustang District, participated in the camp. He enthusiastically described the camp activities.

“We studied geography, mainly learning about the terrain and how climate change is impacting the snow leopard habitat. We also learned about snowstorms and how avalanches occur. And we made nature drawings and participated in fun activities like dancing and singing during refreshment breaks.”

Snow Leopard Scouts camp participants created nature drawings and enthusiastically participated in cultural activities like dancing and singing – Photo: TSN/SLC

When Sajal returned home at the conclusion of the camp, he shared his experiences with school classmates. He described how they received instruction in the use binoculars, spotting scopes, and GPS monitoring and learned how to set up camera traps.

“I wrote everything in my diary,” he said. “We spotted a pika, a red fox, and even a mother blue sheep with her baby! It wasn’t easy to see the blue sheep sitting so far away,” Sajal recalls. “First of all, focusing the lenses was a hard job. The blue sheep sat like a pride, high on the ridge above the rocks. We sometimes see blue sheep in the steep terrain near the village, but this time it felt special.”

Transformative experiences like the Snow Leopard Scouts camp nurture the next generation of conservationists, inspiring the youth of today to become future guardians of Nature.