Geography Trip to Matheran

As part of their Geography Fieldwork investigation assignment, 56 students of Year 9 set about to visit Matheran, a hill station near Mumbai, on 29th April 2023. Their aim was to investigate the sustainability of tourism at the popular tourist destination. Matheran is a no-vehicle station, however students investigated other aspects of sustainable tourism such as benefits to the local population and the traders, and awareness of tourism norms amongst tourists as well as their level of satisfaction with the tourism experience. Students also conducted an environmental survey to investigate littering, noise levels and tree cover.

Trekking on an arduous route, a batch of students also visited Hashachi Patti, a small hamlet nestled in a valley near Matheran. The entire village is dependent on Matheran for their livelihood, with only one route connecting them to Matheran. Students interacted with the locals and also learnt about the contribution made by DAIS Alumni to the welfare of the village.

Overall, the 2 days at Matheran were an excellent exercise in experiential learning and collaborative work for the Year 9 students.