# What It Takes to Make a Nature Immersion Happen

**URL:** https://grove.rainmatter.org/t/what-it-takes-to-make-a-nature-immersion-happen/5269
**Category:** Articles and Blogs
**Created:** [October 6, 2026, 10:14am UTC](https://grove.rainmatter.org/t/what-it-takes-to-make-a-nature-immersion-happen/5269 "2026-10-06T10:14:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Page:** 1

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### 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: [October 6, 2026, 10:14am UTC](https://grove.rainmatter.org/t/what-it-takes-to-make-a-nature-immersion-happen/5269/1 "2026-10-06T10:14:01Z")

</div>

Continuing the discussion from [Bugle Rock Comes Alive](https://grove.rainmatter.org/t/bugle-rock-comes-alive/5262):

A nature immersion session can look simple from the outside.  
A group of children arrives at a park. They walk around, observe plants and insects, sit under trees, ask questions and learn from what they see.

But creating opportunities for children to learn from nature across a city takes much more than planning a session. It requires schools, educators, local communities, park staff and government departments to work together. When nature-based learning becomes part of a city’s larger agenda, these efforts can become a shared responsibility rather than the work of one organisation alone.

At Thicket Tales, we are exploring this through our work with schools, educators and city partners. Through our collaboration with the **BBMP Climate Action Clubs** , we are working with schools on climate and nature-based learning, including a more intensive model school programme. Our **Learn Around Nature (LAN)** programme and **LAN Educator Incubation** also allow us to work directly with schools and educators, enabling them to take nature-based learning into their own school communities.

And this is being done by a small team of four.

A large part of making this possible is finding the right places, building relationships and creating the systems that allow learning to happen outdoors.  
Our work at **Bugle Rock Park** is one example of what happens behind the scenes.

 ![WhatsApp Image 2026-10-06 at 1.30.24 PM](https://groveassets.rainmatter.org/original/2X/d/db01e3bad93745bb7bff1ed9f9884e0610545599.jpeg)

### **Finding the right place**

The first step is making sure the park works for the school and the students.

**Vasavi, our Head of Programs and Network,** coordinates with the school and helps identify a park that is close enough for students to visit. She also works with the school to understand their schedule, collect the dates they would like to visit and communicate the permission requirements.

For our Educator Incubation programmes, this process also extends to supporting educators and schools to identify and secure permissions for the places where they can conduct their own nature-based learning activities.

Once the dates and park are confirmed, the process of getting permission begins.

### **The first permission**

Our first visit to Bugle Rock required us to understand how access to the park worked and who needed to be involved.

**Anfal, Outreach and Communications Head at Thicket Tales,** contacted **Suraj, Climate Action Cell Fellow from the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA)**, who helped us get an appointment with **Chandrashekhar sir, Joint Director of Horticulture**.

On the given date, we visited the department and spoke about Thicket Tales, the work we do with students and why we wanted to conduct nature immersion sessions at Bugle Rock.

After understanding our work and the purpose of the visits, Chandrashekhar sir signed our main permission letter.

The signed letter then had to be taken to the **Senior Assistant Director of Horticulture**. We met him, explained the work again and shared the dates of the visits we were planning. He then granted permission for the students to visit the park during those hours.  
Only after these steps could we begin preparing for the actual sessions.

 ![IMG_20251105_101636 (1)](https://groveassets.rainmatter.org/original/2X/c/c6c09277996a7e3259a9dd03d030d81d491da3d4.jpeg)

### **Keeping everyone informed**

There is also another important part of the process: communicating with the people who are already connected to the park.

A day or two before each visit, **Anwitha, Research and Pedagogy Head** , contacts the **Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA)** to inform them that the students will be visiting the park.

Then, on the day of the immersion, the team arrives at the park with the permission in hand. Since the park is closed at that time, the permission letter is shown to the **watchman** before the group enters.  
It may seem like a small step, but it is what allows the students and facilitators to enter the park smoothly and begin their session.

 ![WhatsApp Image 2026-10-06 at 2.20.10 PM](https://groveassets.rainmatter.org/original/2X/f/f6548558ef92817aaca10beab308c76e73c12be2.jpeg)

### **Building trust takes time**

For the first visit, this entire process had to be followed.

Over time, the process became easier as the people involved became familiar with Thicket Tales and the nature of our visits.

On some occasions, when we arrived and were not initially allowed into the park, we could call the Senior Assistant Director of Horticulture. He would speak directly to the concerned people, including the park watchman, and help us get access for the session.

### **From one park to a city of learning spaces**

Bugle Rock is one example, but the larger goal is to make nature-based learning possible in many places across the city.

With a four-member team, we cannot personally facilitate every nature immersion in every school. This is where programmes like **LAN and LAN Educator Incubation** become important. Through LAN, we work directly with students and schools, while Educator Incubation supports educators in developing the confidence and skills to take learning outdoors themselves.

In several of these programmes, the Thicket Tales team has directly worked through the process of identifying places, understanding local systems and securing permissions so that educators and schools can continue the work independently.

Our collaboration with **BBMP Climate Action Clubs** adds another layer to this. By working with the city’s climate action efforts and schools, we can create more opportunities for students to observe their surroundings, understand local environmental issues and take action within their own communities.

The aim is not for one small team to carry nature-based learning across the whole city on its own. It is to build a network of schools, educators, communities and institutions that can make these experiences possible in many different places.

 ![WhatsApp Image 2026-10-06 at 2.20.36 PM](https://groveassets.rainmatter.org/original/2X/f/f92932596627510e862b8db1fe6494f6ab10d38d.jpeg)

### **An immersion is a collective effort**

By the time the students arrive at Bugle Rock, the groundwork has already involved several people, coordinating with schools, identifying a suitable park, planning dates, getting permissions, communicating with the RWA and ensuring that the park staff are informed.

The children may only see the part where they walk into the park and begin exploring.

They may not see the calls, letters, appointments and conversations that made that moment possible.

But all of it is part of creating a space where they can learn outside the classroom.

In many ways, a nature immersion works much like an ecosystem. Different people have different roles, and each one matters. From the school management and teachers to the school support staff, from the park watchman and RWA to the horticulture department and government officials, each person helps make the learning experience possible.

This is why nature-based learning is not simply about **taking children to a park**.

It is about finding the right place, building relationships with the people who care for it, working with schools and institutions, understanding and respecting the systems around the space, and bringing different people together towards a common purpose.

When these pieces come together, something that may look simple from the outside becomes possible.

The doors open, the students walk in, and the park becomes their classroom.

 ![WhatsApp Image 2026-10-06 at 2.25.03 PM](https://groveassets.rainmatter.org/original/2X/3/391e0a9e5396eb5672530dea134bb728f973c513.jpeg)