Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Basil field trip

“Eat food, not too much, mostly plants,” Michael Pollan’s statement sums up just about all that we studied while at the Basil institution on the outskirts of Mysore, Tamil Nadu, India. This field trip was excellent and much enjoyed by the handful of motivated students and chaperones. Learning about agriculture on both a global and local scale opened our eyes to the many problems and beauties it encompasses. We watched videos, sat through seminars, worked on the organic farm, swam in the Kaveri river, visited the Mysore dam and a bird sanctuary and then reflected our learning in a presentation that we put together on the final day. Truly an eye opening experience that has changed our view on food and its production forever- a privilege to have been a part of the group to Basil, and a recommendation for all to visit.

Bryan Plymale
Field trip leader (SoEx, TOK teacher)
Excerpts from student journals:
“Eat food, not too much, mostly plants,” Michael Pollan’s statement sums up just about all that we studied while at the Basil institution on the outskirts of Mysore, Tamil Nadu, India. This field trip was excellent and much enjoyed by the handful of motivated students and chaperones. Learning about agriculture on both a global and local scale opened our eyes to the many problems and beauties it encompasses. We watched videos, sat through seminars, worked on the organic farm, swam in the Kaveri river, visited the Mysore dam and a bird sanctuary and then reflected our learning in a presentation that we put together on the final day. Truly an eye opening experience that has changed our view on food and its production forever- a privilege to have been a part of the group to Basil, and a recommendation for all to visit.

Visiting Basil was an eye-opening experience and we discovered and learnt so much about food and agriculture in respect to the world today. Though it is a depressing thought to know how wrong we have gone as a race it was also highly motivating to discover all the possible solutions which are so simple to implement. “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”

WE will continue to work towards the betterment of our world, starting in KIS. I am sure many of us will return to Basil one day, for a visit or perhaps even to volunteer. We hope to see you in KIS one day too.

It was very well coordinated field. The field trip was very informative. I got to know a lot about the current global issues that I am unaware of. I personally loved the accomodation that we were offered. It was a perfect week off from our busy school life. It is definitely better than the ‘Habitat for Humanity’ field trip the previous year.

Staying at a peaceful place outside the clutches of the city, by the banks of river Kaveri was very relaxing. The trip also made me aware of a number of things , which I was previously not aware of. I came to know a lot about the importance of soil and its correlation with life. I also cherish the knowledge that I acquired about ‘healthy eating habits’.