Climate education and community-informed learning - Himalayas
Project owner: YDA Garsha
This project focuses on designing and delivering community-based, participatory workshops that bring together students, local residents, and facilitators in a two-way learning process around citizen science and early warning systems. Rather than a one-directional training, the workshops are structured as spaces for knowledge exchange, where communities and hosts learn from each other.
The core aim is to co-create approaches to environmental data collection and interpretation that support early warning systems for local environmental risks—particularly landslides and avalanches in Himalayan regions. Local knowledge, lived experience, and existing informal or traditional warning practices form the starting point of the workshops and are treated as essential expertise.
Through a series of hands-on and discussion-based sessions, participants will:
Share local methods, observations, and practices already used to understand landscape change and environmental risks
Map existing community-based or informal early warning mechanisms
Learn simple, low-cost data collection methods using accessible tools and digital platforms
Explore how community-generated data can complement local knowledge to strengthen early warnings, preparedness, and local decision-making
The project is rooted in eco-conscious practice and long-term ecological thinking, recognising communities as active stewards of their environment, not just data collectors. By valuing both scientific approaches and place-based knowledge, the workshops aim to build trust, relevance, and practical impact.
Advisory Team
Dr Eashan Saikia
Mechanical Engineer & Entrepreneur, Arth Impact Ltd (Cambridge, UK)
Dr Rhythima Shinde
Environmental Engineer & Sustainability Consultant, Arth Impact Ltd (London, UK)
Preetish Kakoty
GIS & Risk Modelling Specialist, University of Auckland / Infra Risk Resilience (Assam, India & NZ)