Nature is a powerful teacher, and there are so many things that a student can learn hands-on in the lap of nature that cannot be learned sitting in a classroom. An environmental tour provides remarkable opportunity to the students to observe nature, to be in close proximity with it and to obtain knowledge from experiences. Such tours expose the minds of students to the diverse cultures of India rather the world. It is very difficult to understand the Nature of various types of forests, wildlife, climate, people etc. simply by reading textbooks. Traveling to different places helps us to grasp the depth of the subject. Management successfully achieved the objective of making the tour academic cum touristic.

To promote learning through outdoor interactions and experiences, Department of Environmental Sciences, Govt. Degree College Langate under the banner of its Eco-Club, organized a one-day environmental tour to Dachigam National Park for BG-2nd Semester students on 24th June 2023. The choice of this location falls in line with the College administration preference of visiting places of natural importance rather than tourist destinations. Dachigam National Park is located at 22 Kms from Srinagar city in the Zabarwan Range of the Western Himalayas. It is one of the premier National Park of India and is famous for conservation of Kashmir Stag (Hangul)-an important endemic and endangered species.

The tour commenced with a briefing by a naturalist on the rich biodiversity of the area. This was followed by an informative walk where students read about the wildlife of Dachigam National Park written on the boards around the protected area. the students were delighted to go inside the park, which was a wonderful experience of driving through the forest as they sighted different species of animals and explored the various trails of the Dachigam National Park. The students were delighted to see a number of wild creatures native to the region in their natural habitat. Animals like Himalayan Black Bear, Musk Deer, Hangul and Leopard. A variety of birds such as Cinnamon Sparrow, Black Bulbul, Kashmir Flycatcher and Red-Billed Blue Magpie were encountered by the students. The students as well as teachers returned happy and content, from a trip in the heart of nature.