A new study by the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS) reveals the Wild Shaale environmental education programme is making a real impact on young minds across the Western Ghats. The programme reached 7,381 students aged 10 to 13 in 200 government schools across Goa, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu from June 2022 to February 2023. The research, titled ‘Scaling environmental education across diverse socio-ecological contexts: Insights from the Wild Shaale program in India,’ was led by Dr. Krithi K. Karanth from CWS and Duke University. Findings show Karnataka and Tamil Nadu students developed strong empathy and pro-wildlife attitudes. Meanwhile, children in Goa demonstrated higher baseline environmental knowledge. Wild Shaale participants scored up to 34% better on environmental knowledge tests and showed 31% improved awareness of safe practices around wildlife. Correct answers increased by as much as 25 percentage points. “For example, in Goa, students who correctly identified what animals need to survive jumped from 40% to 66%. In Karnataka, correct safety responses nearly doubled from 24% to 49%. These gains were consistent among boys and girls alike,” CWS said. Dr. Karanth said, “It is very exciting to see that working with children generates such wonderful insights that can enable long-term conservation stewardship of India’s wildlife and wild places.” The programme uses interactive learning to connect rural school children near wildlife reserves to nature conservation. This study highlights how focused education can nurture future conservation champions in diverse eco-regions like the Western Ghats.