Karnataka plans a mobile rainforest museum to teach children about the Western Ghats. The project, Western Ghats on Wheels, uses a 15-metre luxury bus to visit 31 districts. Tabrez Alam Shariff said, "Our idea is to transform a conventional bus into a moving rainforest," using technology to show wildlife.
Bengaluru: What if schoolchildren could experience the sights and sounds of the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats landscape without stepping into a forest?
Karnataka is planning to bring the rainforest to their doorstep through an ambitious mobile biodiversity museum that will travel across all 31 districts, unveiling the rich ecological heritage of the Western Ghats to classrooms, particularly in rural areas and create awareness on the importance of safeguarding the Western Ghats.The initiative, titled as 'Western Ghats on Wheels', has been conceptualised by the Karnataka State Western Ghats Conservation Task Force with an aim to recreate the rainforest inside a specially designed, 15-metre-long multi-axle luxury bus. The project is being conceived as a fully immersive mobile biodiversity museum, with the government planning to submit it for recognition in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest such facility."Our idea is to transform a conventional bus into a moving rainforest, allowing students to experience the biodiversity, wildlife and unique ecosystems of the Western Ghats through interactive displays and advanced technology. The initiative is expected to reach millions of students who may otherwise never get an opportunity to visit and experience the Western Ghats and witness its ecological wealth firsthand," explained Tabrez Alam Shariff, Chairperson of the task force who has envisioned the concept under the guidance of CM DK Shivakumar, forest minister Ramalinga Reddy and Additional Chief Secretary, forest, environment and ecology Anjum Parvez, IAS.
The bus will feature a climate-controlled interior with living terrariums, flowing waterfalls and representations of shola vegetation, recreating the atmosphere of a rainforest. Three-dimensional holographic displays and augmented reality (AR) technology will bring endangered fauna of the region closer to visitors, while live camera feeds from forests will offer glimpses of biodiversity in its natural habitat.The project also envisages installing 5.2 kW solar panels to power its Internet of Things (IoT)-based forest camera feeds, incorporating renewable energy into the mobile museum's design. The exterior of the vehicle will carry large murals depicting iconic wildlife of the Western Ghats, including the Royal Bengal tiger, black panther and Great Hornbill, making the bus a moving visual representation of the region's ecological richness, according to an official release by the task force.The 15-metre vehicle is being designed to navigate narrow ghat roads and reach schools in remote parts of Karnataka. "Discussions are underway with Volvo Group India to provide the bus. Once secured, its interior and exterior transformation is expected to be completed in approximately six months through CSR partnership. By bringing the true atmosphere of the forest into school campuses, we are making environmental education more inclusive. This will inspire the younger generation to care for nature and protect our natural wealth." Shariff said.
Besides the mobile museum, the task force is pursuing other initiatives aimed at strengthening conservation and public engagement including a proposal to declare ancient Myristica swamp regions as eco-sensitive zones and biodiversity heritage sites, and the preparation of what it describes as the first inter-state national policy for Western Ghats conservation. The task force is also planning to release an official anthem on the Western Ghats to be rendered by singer Jaskaran Singh, and a 'Treasure Hunt Passbook' initiative in collaboration with UNESCO, WWF-India and the India Post to encourage people to explore heritage sites.