IB LEARNING EXPEDITION TO THE LAND OF ISLANDS
ANDANAM & NICOBAR ISLANDS FIELD TRIP
20TH DEC-26TH DEC, 2014
GEOGRAPHY, ESS, EVM & GP STUDENTS
K.GURU CHARAN KUMAR
IB ,IGCSE & MYP Environmental Science
IB ESS Paper 1&2 Assist Examiner
IB ESS IA Examiner
IB World Student Conference-GAT Leader

Our Journey Route Map

DAY 1
20.12.2014

From the New Delhi Airport

Inside the Flight

About our IB Expedition Journey
This December(2014), a few Pathwazians from 9th and 11th
grade, boarded a plane to Port Blair in the Land of Islands,
Andaman’s with eager spirits, anticipating the chance to explore
the exotic group of islands, which number 552 in total!
In a matter of one week, it was unbelievable that we managed to
capture the true essence of an entire Union Territory which is a
tourist hot spot and is well known for its environmental offerings
to the rest of the world.

In front of the Cellular Jail

The Beauty of Cellular Jail

In the Cellular Jail

Group photo-Cellular Jail rooftop

In the cellular jail Museum

In the Cellular Jail

DAY 2
21.12.2014

In the Bartang Island

Local Transport in Andaman

In the Bartang Island-Mangroove Forest

In the Bartang Island

Moving to Lime Stone Cave

Travelling in a boat

Lime Stone Cave-Jol Tikrey

Inside the Limestone cave

Lime Stone Cave-Jol Tikrey

Mangroove Study

Checking the temperature of the Mangroove field

Mangroove Cultivation-Yeratta

Interaction with Local Bengali Migrants

Interaction with Bengali Migrants

Interaction with Bengali Migrants

Ms. Ratna Kanan, Chairperson of RWA of Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Interaction with the Local community-Yeratta

About our IB Expedition Journey
We began our fieldwork with a visit to the monuments with
great historic significance in Andaman – one of which was the
Cellular Jail where we were given a tour of the Gallows and
prison cells which housed Political Prisoners of the late 19th
Century and is more popularly known to the world as ‘Kaala
Pani’ which literally translates into ‘exile’.
We also saw a light and sound show regarding the same,
where the prison ground spectacularly turned into a theatre.
We also visited the Tsunami Memorial which commemorated
the Tsunami that had wreaked havoc in the A & N islands on
26th December 2004, a decade ago.

DAY 3
22.12.2014

Interaction with Karen community Migrants

Interaction with Karmen Community

Enroute to Ross & Smith Island

Visit to Ross & Smith Islands

Coral Study

In the Ross & Smith Island

Coral Beach Ground

About our IB Expedition Journey
Andaman has several geographical wonders as well which we
were fortunate enough to have an opportunity to see, namely
the limestone caves of Yeratta and the mud volcano of Jol
Tikrey.
The mud volcano and limestone caves contributed greatly to
the coursework and internal assessments that the students
were collecting data for, as we gathered information pertaining
to the mud’s mineral content, the preparedness of village
communities which live in areas of active natural hazards and
the social impact of tourism there.

DAY 4
23.12.2014

Testing the Mud Volcano soil

Mud Volcano Study

In the Mud Volcano

Core of the Mud Volcano

Mud Volcano –Jol Tikrey

Students doing Mud Volcano Study

Interaction with Local School students and Teachers

Interaction with Local School students and Teachers

School bag donation

River Study

About our IB Expedition Journey
We met several significant people in Andaman’s society such as
Ms. Ratna Kanan, Chairperson of RWA of Andaman & Nicobar
Islands who enlightened us regarding the current social issues
in Andaman, as well as the measures taken to create awareness
about them.
Mr. Sonny Thomas was another person we were glad to have
encountered as he was the head of the Zila Prashad and was
instrumental in setting up some of our surveys in the villages
for Bengali Migrants. Bengali migrants have settled in the
Andaman for the east Bengal early 1975.
He informed us of the difficulties faced by the Bengali Migrant
villagers in their daily life such as the amenities provided by the
government including the health facilities and accessibility of

DAY 5
24.12.2014

Mangroove walk

Mangroove roots

Group Photo in Dhanni nallah-Largest Mangroove forest walk in India

Visit to Apiculture Farm

Turtle nesting grounds, Diglipur

Leather back turtle-Rare chance to see

About our IB Expedition Journey
 Fortunately the Karen community, who settled in the Andaman’s from
Myanmar, proved to be much more interactive and we conducted many
productive surveys in their village.
 We had a special session with a Youth Pastor there from whom it was learnt
that 12 families of their tribe had come settle here in 1925 and has
expanded to 200 ever since.
 The data related to the people and their lives was just as valuable as the
environmental data collected in the river study, a coral study and even tests
of pH and soil temperature in mangrove cultivation were conducted! We
later walked through the Dhani Nallah, the longest mangrove walkway in
India!
 There was a vast variety of mangrove trees to observe and study, such as
Black Mangroves with Red Flowers, Palm Mangroves, and Cedar Mangroves
etc. It was interesting to know that the roots of Mangroves have adaptations
like Pneumatophores and Stilt roots which make them true survivors in this
saline environment.

DAY 6
25.12.2014

In the Andaman Naval Base

In the INS Cheetah

In the Andaman Naval Base

Christmas Celebration-Port Blair

Christmas Celebration-Port Blair

About our IB Expedition Journey
We also had the tribal groups of Jarawas and Ongis on our list, but
we couldn’t manage to get a glimpse of them!
The rarity of this experience cannot be emphasized enough as the
Jarawas are an elusive tribe which is hidden in the jungles of
North and Middle Andaman, who do not keep contact with other
humans and continue to live as a small tribe of hunter-gatherers,
glad in their isolation.
Perhaps, this is the very definition of a ‘tribe’, someone who is not
in the mainstream. It is very easy and rather disturbing to see
how, Indigenous tribes are being affected by the advances of
urbanisation, in today’s world.

DAY 7
26.12.2014

In the last day

Sea Walk-Port Blair

Sea Walk

About our IB Expedition Journey
 We celebrated Christmas by praying at the Stella Marie Church and
also paid a visit to the Murugan Temple. We wanted to give back to
society as well, so we spent time with orphans in the Mother Teresa
Home and gifted them school bags which we specially bought from
Delhi.
 Though the trip was extremely in hectic and packed with data
collection, we had some fun trips too where we went to the beach
at Ross & Smith and the Water Complex at Port Blair where we
attempted a ‘sea walk’.
 The sea walk was a guided activity in which we were taken to the
depths of the sea and were able to walk on the sea floor, as we
enjoyed corals, anemones and fish which were teeming all around
us. Later, we went souvenir shopping to Aberdeen Bazaar as well.

Thank you………..

Made by
K.Guru Charan kumar,ESS Teacher, India
 MYP Teacher
 IGCSE EVM Teacher
 Graphic Designer
 Photographer
 Quiz Master
 Blogger
 Web Designer
 Adobe Specialist
 Snake Lover
 IAYP School In charge
 Round Square School Member
 School Clicking Club Head
 Graphic Designer and Field Trip Organiser
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For more visit our website:
http://andamannicobarfieldtrip2014.weebly.com
You Tube Link about our trip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl9Zm_KbKho

• My Websites : http://gurucharankumar.weebly.com/
• My Wikispace: http://gurumantra.wikispaces.com/
• My IB Articles link :
• http://blogs.ibo.org/alumni/tag/k-guru-charan-kumar/
• My Youtube Channel :
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsDy4JIHFQ1SMIUcQMXxFFg
• My Slideshare link : http://www.slideshare.net/kingcobra2012
• Gmail- gurucharankumar16gmail.com
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