Experiential Learning at the East Kolkata Wetlands

Kolkata is the only city in the world located by the side of a 12500-hectare wetland that is ecologically, economically, and socially significant to the city. This wetland, named by the celebrated ecologist Dr. Dhrubajyoti Ghosh as the East Kolkata Wetlands, is internationally acclaimed for nurturing a lasting tradition of disposal and utilisation of urban waste in agriculture and fisheries. Eighty-two students and six teachers from the Department of Geography, Loreto College, visited these wetlands, a Ramsar Site, on November 14, 2024. These wetlands are one of the only two wetlands in the world outstanding for their treatment of wastewater.

The objectives of the visit were:
•To visit the area in order to study the landscape and how it has been transformed by the community.
•To identify the various components of the ecosystem (natural and man-made) and recognise the traditional practices adopted by the people.
•To develop an understanding about the functioning of the wetlands as a wastewater treatment plant
•To identify the threats adversely affecting the wetlands and realise how the wetland landscape is changing in recent times.

Mr. Subhankar Sardar, Wetland Resident, M.Sc. in Geography, West Bengal State University and Dr. Sudeshna Ghosh, Former Head, Department of Geography, Mahadevi Birla World Academy and Independent Researcher were the resource persons who lucidly explained the dynamics of the field visit. The visit promoted experiential learning, which is a student-centric method that involves the creation of knowledge through practical training.