ST. XAVIER’S STUDENTS VISIT THE SUNDERBANS ON SUNDAY, 15th, FEBRUARY.
St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata, introduced a multidisciplinary course, Wetlands Ecology and Conservation in 2025. The only course of its kind in India, it has attracted a significant student enrolment in 2026. While it ties up with the Jesuit commitment to environment protection and study, it has enabled St. Xavier's to enter into collaborative support of the NGO, Human and Environment Alliance League, while bringing in professionals in wildlife Conservation, to teach and moderate a course designed to offer experiential learning to students.
Built on the principle - 'We will not protect what we don't care for. We will not care for what we don't know', the course gives students first-hand experience of what they are taught in the class room. This involves field trips to 2 Ramsar sites of international importance in West Bengal, the East Kolkata Wetlands and the Sunderbans.
The first of these field trips was a visit to the Sunderbans on the 15th of February. On site classes were held in the novel setting of the sunlit deck of a boat. Dr Sugata Hazra, ex-Director, Department of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, Prof Prosenjeet Dawn, University of Calcutta, and Suvrajyoti Chatterjee, herpetologist and Secretary of HEAL, took sessions on hydrology, sea level rise and the mangrove ecosystem, and snake rescue missions in the villages of the region.
The trip introduced the students to the ecology of this unique ecosystem while giving them a chance to observe Conservation interventions in the field. Facilitated by the collaboration of forest officials of the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve, the students interacted directly with park authorities at Sajnekhali Wildlife Sanctuary to understand management objectives and interpretations.
En route to Jamespur, the students observed an innovative first-time-in-the-world Nature Based Solution for protection of embankments and regeneration of biodiversity conceived by Dr. Hazra.
The last stop on the river journey was at Sudhanyakhali where they celebrated Fishing Cat February - a global month-long celebration of the Fishing Cat, which also happens to be West Bengal's State Animal.
The second field trip which is to the East Kolkata Wetlands is slated for early March. It will give students hands-on experience and understanding of how the fate of humans, non-humans and wetlands are interconnected and what they can do in their individual capacities to act as eco-warriors to conserve the wetlands which are the most threatened ecosystem in the world.
