Movies, malls and Metro ? today?s children seem completely at home with the modern lifestyle. But seldom do they know the joy of watching birds in flight, flowers in bloom, the shapes that clouds take in the autumn sky and the ripples in the river.

Things are set to change fast, thanks to an initiative by the state forest department to equip children with skills to commune with nature.

As the first step in that direction, the forest department is sensitising teachers to introduce schoolchildren to varieties of flora and fauna. Under a programme designed for the purpose, teachers of 40 leading schools, including many English-medium institutions, have been imparted training for raising awareness about nature among their students.

Nature corners will be set up in classrooms across the city and excursions will be planned, with active help from the forest department, as part of the project.

?The programme is devised in such a way that the teachers first undergo a two-day training programme in environmental education under senior forest officials. Unless they know it themselves, they cannot genuinely involve the students,? said V.K. Yadav, deputy chief wildlife warden, forest department.

Students of these schools will now be taught to watch butterflies in their neighbourhoods, plant saplings and nurture them by watering them regularly. They will also study wetlands, its flora and fauna and go on excursions to forest areas like the Sunderbans, Bethuadahari and in Midnapore.

?Taking children closer to nature helps them cope with stress, which has become inescapable in a metro like ours,? feels Apurba Ghosh, director, Institute of Child Health, Calcutta.

Kindergarten students will be taught to identify and prepare identity cards for animals they see in the zoo. ?We have also asked the teachers to take the students on excursions to various forests. Our department will help in camping and depute staff for their safety,? Yadav said.

Audio-visual shows will also be held in the schools to acquaint students with varieties of flora and fauna.

?Students are responding well to the concept and are very keen to go on expeditions,? said Rita Maitra, a teacher of St Thomas School for Girls, Kidderpore.

?We will now teach them to recognise birds? calls. In the bustling cityscape, all that they are familiar with is the caw of crows and chirp of sparrows,? Maitra explained. She said the forest department had given a CD on nature, which will soon be shown at the school.

At DAV Public School, students of the junior classes are being given projects on nature. ?Kids are asked to plant saplings in front of their houses and take care of them. We are also teaching them the difference between bio-degradable and non-bio-degradable wastes and how to dispose of them,? said S. Sanyal, a teacher of the school.

The lack of space has prompted the authorities of St James School to plan setting up of a nature corner on the school building?s terrace. ?We are also teaching students about wildlife conservation and environmental problems,? said Juli Mukherjee, a teacher on environmental studies and in-charge of the nature club in the school.