Chennai Alumni Group Uses Caricature Labels to Educate Students on Vulture Conservation
An alumni group from The Hindu Higher Secondary School in Triplicane, Chennai, has launched a novel initiative to raise awareness about vulture conservation among school students. The group, comprising members of the 1986 batch who call themselves the 'Big Street Boys', is leveraging caricature art to make the subject engaging for young learners.
The project was conceived by Raghunath Krishna, a brand strategist who works with environment and nature conservation NGOs. Krishna, also a caricature artist, has designed labels for school notebooks featuring playful depictions of vultures. The aim is to first capture children's attention with the artwork, and then educate them about the ecological importance of vultures, which are facing population decline due to factors such as biomagnification—the process by which chemical toxins accumulate in the food chain.
On June 18, the alumni group distributed a large set of these labels to students at Olcott School in Besant Nagar. During the event, Krishna spoke about the critical role vultures play in ecosystems, noting that no other creature can replace them. The labels were funded by contributions from group members.
Krishna explained that his approach avoids data-heavy posters that might bore viewers. Instead, he focuses on simple caricatures that can later be supplemented with factual information. He has also created a YouTube channel, Pencils Rock Academy, where he shares lessons on using caricature for conservation education.
This is not Krishna's first conservation initiative involving schools. He has previously worked with forest-based communities in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka on campaigns related to tigers and elephants. One notable project, 'Elephany', was an art project for children during the pandemic that highlighted the elephant's role as a seed disperser, with each elephant estimated to plant around 18 lakh trees through its dung in its lifetime.
Krishna expressed hope that the vulture conservation initiative could be expanded to other schools, including his alma mater, but noted that it would depend on support from beyond the current alumni group.
