Reading the forest
A small, hands-on class for anyone who has ever walked through a forest and wished they knew what they were looking at.
Names are the start of noticing
Once you can tell a banj oak from a chir pine, or a barbet's call from a cuckoo's, a forest stops being a green blur. It becomes a place full of particular things.
Our nature class is two unhurried hours at Oakakhi and in the edge of Kalika forest. You learn a few trees, a few calls, and how to keep a simple field notebook, so the next walk you take, anywhere, is a richer one. It suits curious adults and older children alike.
“You cannot protect what you cannot name, and you cannot name what you have never stopped to look at.”
The Turiya Trails wayA first field course in two hours
Trees of the Kumaun forest
Banj oak, buransh, chir pine and the plants that grow in their shade. How to tell them apart, and why it matters which grows where.
Learning by ear
The calls you heard that morning, and how to start recognising birds before you see them.
The field notebook
A simple way to record what you notice: sketches, notes and questions. No drawing skill needed.
Reading signs
Tracks, feathers, feeding marks and the small clues that tell you who passed by.
What a session looks like
- Small groups, so everyone can ask questions
- Half indoors at Oakakhi, half at the forest edge
- Notebooks and pencils provided
- Suitable for adults and children aged about ten and up
- Pairs well with a birding morning or astro night
Oakakhi and the edge of Kalika forest, Ranikhet.
Late morning or afternoon, through most of the year.
Up to eight people.
On its own
Reading the forest
Oakakhi and Kalika forest, Ranikhet · 2 hoursA small, hands-on class: the trees of the Kumaun forest, bird calls, and keeping a simple field notebook.
Prices are per person, for a minimum of two people. Solo guests are welcome to join a scheduled session. Sessions at Kasar Devi and Sattal begin there. We can arrange transport from Ranikhet at cost. Private sessions for your own group can be arranged on request.
Let’s plan a quieter kind of journey.
Tell us what you are looking for, how many of you there are and roughly when. We will help you find the right walk, sky or forest, and we will be honest if we are not the right fit.