[ Prem Chetry ]

MORSHING, 10 Sep: As part of the Big Butterfly Month 2026, an awareness event themed 'Insects in a Changing World' was jointly organised by Kolkata-based Nature Mates-Nature Club (NMC) and Garung Thuk (GT) of Shergaon with Kunphen Residential School (KRS), here in West Kameng district on Wednesday.

The programme featured a documentary on the butterfly lifecycle, a butterfly walk to document the butterfly diversity of the village, an interactive session on how to distinguish between butterflies and moths, and discussions on their behaviour, appearance and ecological significance.

KRS administrator Sonam Geychen said that "we would never notice insects around us before, but today's event really helped us appreciate them and their role in nature. Many of the students learned about butterfly lifecycle and their importance for the first time today."

Butterfly researcher and NMC project coordinator Sarika Baidya said that "insect conservation is still pretty much under-focused in India. The priority in conservation can only change with participation of young students."

She expressed gratitude to KRS and the Government School Domkho for showing interest in insect conservation, and to Garung Thuk for coordinating with the school authorities in arranging the event.