A journey to a village near the forest

"Growing up with Nature" is Chapter 4 of the Class 4 EVS book Our Wondrous World. It follows Reena and Amit, who travel with their family to their village near a forest. It is time for the harvest festival, and there is extra excitement: on the same day, the village is becoming a fully solar-powered village. Through their trip, the children discover how closely village life is connected with nature, and how people there use natural resources wisely and thank nature for everything it gives.

The flame of the forest

As they enter the village, the children see trees covered with bright orange-red flowers. This is the Palash tree. When it blooms, the whole forest looks reddish-orange from far away, so it is called the flame of the forest. In Gujarat, Palash is known as Kesuda. Just like Palash, many flowers and trees have different local names in different parts of India.

Sunlight that lights up homes

The village has solar panels. These panels take in sunlight and change it into electricity, which runs fans, bulbs and other appliances. Sunlight is a renewable source of energy: it will not run out, and using it does not make smoke. Resources such as coal and petroleum are limited and will not last forever, so clean energy from the Sun helps protect our planet.

Homes made from nature

Amit notices that the village houses look very different from city houses. They are built using clay, hay, cow dung and other natural materials. Such homes stay cool in summer and do not harm the environment. Their walls are decorated with beautiful paintings made by the children’s grandmother, using a dye of rice flour and water. Grandmother also paints on cloth with colours made from flowers, leaves and powdered coloured stones. One famous style of painting with natural colours is Gond art, which shows trees, animals, birds and people.

Making natural dyes

Many plant parts have colouring properties, such as beetroot, hibiscus and marigold. To make a natural dye, we collect these plant parts, boil them in water for 30 minutes to an hour with an adult’s help, and then strain the liquid. A light-coloured handkerchief soaked in the dye overnight comes out beautifully coloured. Natural dyes are gentle on our skin and on rivers.

Clever ways to store food

In the village house, the children see tools for farming and collecting honey, and containers for storing grain. Earthen pots are lined inside with neem leaves, and bamboo baskets are coated outside with cow dung. These traditional methods keep insects and pests away from the stored grain. In Uttarakhand, people use a Tumri, a container made from a dried bottle gourd. Every region has its own clever ways of preserving food.

Respecting nature: honey, herbs and healing

The Jenu Kurubas, a tribe from Karnataka, get their name from Jenu, which means honey. When they collect honey, they sing songs to apologise to the bees, showing deep respect for nature. In the village, Dada ji uses a mixture made with neem oil to keep mosquitoes away. Plants like tulsi (leaves) and ajwain (seeds) are used at home for common problems. A first-aid box is also important, because quick help can prevent a small injury from becoming serious.

Festivals that celebrate nature

In the evening, the whole village glows with colourful lights. Prayers are offered to God and mother nature, the dhol and nagada fill the air, and everyone joins the traditional dance. Many festivals in India are linked with plants and animals: on Vat Purnima people worship the banyan tree, Hari Jiroti is celebrated by planting fruit-bearing trees, and the Kaziranga Elephant Festival spreads awareness about elephants. Sacred groves are small patches of forest protected by local communities, where trees and wildlife are kept safe.

How we can care for nature

We use nature every day for food, clothes and health. If we overuse resources like water, soil, wood or sea products, they can run short. We can help by reducing paper waste, saying no to plastic, saving water and electricity, keeping food and water for birds, planting trees and organising clean-up drives.

This Growing up with Nature worksheet for Class 4 EVS brings the chapter to life on WitKnowLearn with an online quiz, online activities and interactive games. Flip the cards, help the village in the Village Life Lab, play the games, do the nature labs, take the challenges and then test natural dyes and a clay pot in the Virtual Lab.