# Bugle Rock Comes Alive **URL:** https://grove.rainmatter.org/t/bugle-rock-comes-alive/5262 **Category:** Articles and Blogs **Created:** [September 28, 2026, 10:29am UTC](https://grove.rainmatter.org/t/bugle-rock-comes-alive/5262 "2026-09-28T10:29:40Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Page:** 1
### Author: ![Saidevi.S](https://grove.rainmatter.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Saidevi.S](https://grove.rainmatter.org/u/Saidevi.S) #### Post date: [September 28, 2026, 10:29am UTC](https://grove.rainmatter.org/t/bugle-rock-comes-alive/5262/1 "2026-09-28T10:29:40Z")
At Thicket Tales, we work with children and educators to build a deeper connection with nature and their surroundings through place-based, experiential learning. We believe learning becomes more meaningful when children can explore, observe and learn from the world around them. When learning begins in their own backyard, children can connect more easily with what they learn and understand concepts better. But the purpose of these immersions goes beyond helping children learn about nature. At Thicket Tales, we also see nature-based learning as an opportunity to nurture **nature stewardship** , helping children build a deeper connection with the places around them, understand how their actions can affect other living beings, and begin making more thoughtful choices about how they use and care for shared spaces. We think about this through three connected areas: **nature connection, conservation behaviour and consumer behaviour**. The immersions give students opportunities to experience these not as separate ideas, but through what they observe, the questions they ask and the choices they begin to notice around them. Rather than trying to teach or impose these qualities on children, the aim is to create experiences where they can gradually develop them through direct engagement with a place. For many children, especially those growing up in communities with fewer opportunities for access to nature-based learning spaces, the world around them can become a powerful classroom. It also raises an important question: **Can place-based education help make what children learn in school feel more relevant to their everyday lives?** When concepts are connected to places children already know, learning can move beyond the textbook and become something they can observe, question and make sense of for themselves. Bugle Rock was chosen as one such learning space because of both its ecological richness and its proximity to the schools. Located at just 750-1.5km away from the school, it was a familiar place for many of them. This made it an ideal space for hyperlocal learning, allowing students to revisit a place they already knew and begin seeing it through a new lens. ![WhatsApp Image 2026-09-28 at 3.32.10 PM](https://groveassets.rainmatter.org/original/2X/f/f6842ebf6e80c5234aa0b0ac965f1fa5ca6ac137.jpeg) Over three months in 2026, we made **9** visits with a total of **153** students, from different levels of our flagship program — Level 1, 2 and 3 from **Ashoka Shishu Vihara and Women’s Peace League Schools** to Bugle Rock Park, spending time learning, observing and conducting surveys. The students explored the park, its plants, insects, rocks and other living things. At first, many of the conversations began with things that felt familiar. **“Why do we need places like Bugle Rock?”** we asked. “It gives us oxygen.” “We can play.” Then we asked, **“Is it only needed for this?”** One student raised her hand and said, _“Hula road nalli idhre navu tulitivi, but park nalli idre adhu safe aagi irutte.”_ [If an insect is on the road, we might step on it. But in the park, it is safe.] Another student added, “It is home for birds.” The answers were beginning to shift. The park was not just a place for people. It was a place where other living beings could live too. ![9U9A9414](https://groveassets.rainmatter.org/original/2X/0/02fb5ebd29c3c96941f5e6b3ca5bfd24df5d5dff.jpeg) That idea came up again when we asked what they had seen in parks. “Trees, plants, birds, lake, playground, insects…” **“Why are they there?”** “Birds can make nests. Butterflies get nectar.” When we asked specifically about the butterfly, one student simply said: **“It is its home.”** This opened up a conversation about habitat. We spoke about food, water, shelter and safety, and then asked the students what a habitat was. Their answer came back almost exactly in those terms: “It’s a place where you get food, water, shelter and it’s a safe place.” ![WhatsApp Image 2026-09-28 at 3.32.10 PM (3)](https://groveassets.rainmatter.org/original/2X/d/d1c46d7b01cf17ae1df17d9a45c2f4139165f145.jpeg) As the conversation continued, the students began making their own connections. We spoke about ants living inside the soil and termite mounds being found in the soil, which can also provide spaces for snakes. One student pointed out that if we remove the soil and replace it with concrete, these animals would lose their homes and have nowhere to stay. The idea of safety began to become more complicated too. One student told us, “Akka, in this park, people without seeing have stamped on millipedes.” Another observed, “In the park, if Anna cleans and removes the leaves every day, small insects will lose their home.” The children had initially thought of the park as a safer place for insects than a road. Now, they were beginning to notice that even within a park, the choices we make can affect the living things around us. These were not ideas that stayed only in the conversation. We could see them changing the way the students looked around. They began to notice that the way we build and use spaces can affect the other living beings that share them. A patch of soil was no longer just an empty space that could be covered with concrete; it could be home to ants, termites and other animals. The students were beginning to understand **co-existence** , that parks and other shared spaces are not only for people, but also provide food, shelter and safety for many other living beings. They were starting to think about how we can make choices that allow people and nature to share these spaces. As they began looking more closely, they also started noticing that not every part of the park supported life in the same way. During one activity, we observed three different spots and asked the students what they noticed. “Akka, in the first place there was full sunlight and little insects.” “The second place had lots of seeds and flowers. Butterflies, bees and other insects are there.” “The third spot had full shade and not many insects.” Then came the connection: _“Akka! Hagandre, flowers, fruits, seeds jasti iruvalli jasti insects iruthe alva!!”_ [Akka! So, where there are more flowers, fruits and seeds, there are more insects, right?] They were no longer simply identifying what was present. They were beginning to ask **why** different living things were present in different places and what conditions they needed. ![9U9A9176](https://groveassets.rainmatter.org/original/2X/3/32f6aa45ad81465932e900cc869400d7c87816db.jpeg) This way of looking also changed how they thought about things that initially seemed unimportant. During one visit, the students came across a dead tree. Before observing it closely, some of them felt that it was not useful and could simply be removed. But when they looked at it from another side, they began to notice a mushroom, millipede, moss, ants and a spider living around it. Their conclusion changed. “Oh, these many living things are living here, so it is important and we should not remove it.” A tree that had first appeared dead and unnecessary had become a habitat. During another visit, a student pointed to the ground and said, **“Leaf.”** There was leaf litter everywhere, so we assumed that was what she meant. But she corrected us: “No, look, a leaf.” When we looked closely, we realised she had spotted a transparent, dried-out leaf where only the mesh-like veins remained. She even explained that it had shed its skin, which was why it looked that way. The students were often noticing things before we did. Their spotting skills had grown so much that they could pick out a **fully camouflaged Praying Mantis**. On another occasion, children excitedly called out, “Look Yash anna, bagworm!” These were not just anecdotal observations. This growth was also reflected in our assessments, conducted every fourth episode, using rubrics based on the P21 framework where we saw clear progress in the students’ **knowledge, communication and collaboration**. Students also showed greater confidence and agency in observing their surroundings, asking questions and sharing what they discovered. Sometimes, their observations also made us look at familiar things differently. While talking about the conditions around us, one student pointed out that tar is already hot, and when the sun falls on it, it gets even more heated, creating many problems for us. It was a simple observation, but it showed how students were beginning to connect what they were learning with what they experienced around them. And sometimes, they made connections that surprised even us. While we were studying habitats, a girl found an empty snail shell. She asked, “Does a snail not live in it? Doesn’t that make it a habitat?” Then she noticed that the shell was now being used by ants. So, even though the snail was no longer there, the shell could still be a habitat for another animal. It was one of those moments where we realised that children can sometimes think about things in ways that even we, as adults, may not have considered. But connecting with a place is not always about noticing the smallest things. Sometimes, it is about discovering that something you already know has a much bigger story. When we asked the students about the oldest rock they knew, many answered the Himalayas. We then spoke about the story of the Peninsular Gneiss at Bugle Rock and how old it is. One student responded with excitement: _“Akka, idhu dinosaur ginta old!”_ [Akka, it’s older than dinosaurs!] We saw this happen again when the discussion moved from the Peninsular Gneiss to Basavanagudi and what the area is culturally known for. The moment **Kadalekayi Parishe** [Groundnut Festival] came up, the students connected immediately. They had stories, memories and experiences to share. The more connections they made, the more they seemed to notice. And the more they noticed, the more they began to ask questions about how people and other living beings share the same place. ![WhatsApp Image 2026-09-28 at 3.32.10 PM (1)](https://groveassets.rainmatter.org/original/2X/6/6e1c1b631254c1e628586e4940c54168d221c80b.jpeg) By the end of the visits, some of their observations were no longer prompted by a question from us. One student noticed a **paper wasp nest and a potter wasp nest** in a sheltered area. Looking at where the nests had been built, the student reasoned that the wasps had chosen the shaded space because their nests could get wet if they were exposed to rain. It was a small observation, but it captured how much their way of looking had changed. They were not just noticing what was around them. They were observing patterns, asking why something might be the way it is, and forming their own explanations. A place that may have first been seen simply as a park slowly became a place with **rocks** that are older than dinosaurs, insects that need safe spaces, birds that find homes there, butterflies looking for nectar, dead trees that still support life, and living things that can be almost invisible unless we stop and look closely. The students were not only learning about Bugle Rock. They were learning to **see it, understand it and think about their place within it**. And perhaps that is what these visits were really showing us. When children begin to form a connection with a place, they start noticing what lives there. They begin to understand what those living things need. They begin to question their surroundings and, importantly, recognise how the choices we make can change the places we all depend on. That is where these small observations can become something bigger, a growing sense of **care, responsibility and connection** towards the places we share. ![WhatsApp Image 2026-09-28 at 3.32.10 PM (2)](https://groveassets.rainmatter.org/original/2X/d/d0e0a513bfe395c98525fcb9ac3c0170deb1aa1e.jpeg)