YMCA International Camp, Nilshi, India

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YMCA Camp Lakeside is located at village Nilshi, in the Western Ghats (mountains) between Mumbai and Pune, India.

Western Ghats mountain range running parallel to the western coast of India

The Western Ghats, also known as Sahyadri, are a mountain range that covers an area of 140,000 square kilometres (54,000 sq mi) in a stretch of 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, traversing the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight "hottest hot-spots" of biological diversity in the world. It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. It contains a large proportion of the country's flora and fauna, many of which are only found in India and nowhere else in the world. According to UNESCO, the Western Ghats are older than the Himalayas. They influence Indian monsoon weather patterns by intercepting the rain-laden monsoon winds that sweep in from the south-west during late summer. The range runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain, called Konkan, along the Arabian Sea. A total of thirty-nine areas in the Western Ghats, including national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserve forests, were designated as world heritage sites in 2012 – twenty in Kerala, ten in Karnataka, five in Tamil Nadu and four in Maharashtra.

Mumbai Megacity and state capital in Maharashtra, India

Mumbai is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. As of 2011 it is the most populous city in India with an estimated city proper population of 12.4 million. The larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region is the second-most-populous metropolitan area in India, with a population of 21.3 million as of 2016. Mumbai lies on the Konkan coast on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. In 2008, Mumbai was named an alpha world city. It is also the wealthiest city in India, and has the highest number of millionaires and billionaires among all cities in India. Mumbai is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Elephanta Caves, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, and the city's distinctive ensemble of Victorian and Art Deco buildings.

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Camp Managers Bungalow at YMCA Camp Site at Nilshi Ymcalakecampsitenilshi.jpg
Camp Managers Bungalow at YMCA Camp Site at Nilshi

Camp Lakeside is a 40-acre campsite surrounded by the beautiful Andhra Lake. The site aims to provide camping & outdoor experiences that develop self-reliance and resourcefulness in a fun, learning environment.

This wilderness retreat is used by outdoor development experts for environmental education and adventure sports, for corporate executive training, youth leadership building and conference programs, for summer and Diwali camp programs, by social workers for informal education of local under-privileged children, and for spiritual retreats.

Summer one of the Earths four temperate seasons, occurring between spring and autumn

Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, falling after spring and before autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice. The date of the beginning of summer varies according to climate, tradition, and culture. When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and vice versa.

Diwali Hindu festival of lights

Diwali, Deepavali or Dipavali is the festival of lights, which is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists every autumn in the northern hemisphere. One of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, Diwali symbolises the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance." Light is a metaphor for knowledge and consciousness. During the celebration, temples, homes, shops and office buildings are brightly illuminated. The preparations, and rituals, for the festival typically last five days, with the climax occurring on the third day coinciding with the darkest night of the Hindu lunisolar month Kartika. In the Gregorian calendar, the festival generally falls between mid-October and mid-November.

Activities include: Rock climbing, archery, swimming, nature treks, development games, treasure hunts, rappelling, kayaking, ropes course, camp fires etc.

Design

The complex was designed by Pune-based Master Architect Prof.Christopher Charles Benninger. [1] His team included architects Deepak Guggari and Harsh Manrao. [2] This organic complex was completed in 2003 and has won national awards, including the 2006 Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) Award for the best Public Building of the year because of its sustainable environment and unique relationship to the landscape.

Christopher Charles Benninger Indian architect

Christopher Charles Benninger is an American-Indian architect and planner.

Indian Institute of Architects organization

The Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) is the national body of Architects in India with more than 20,000 members. It was established in 1917 with its headquarters in Mumbai. It is associated with the International Union of Architects (UIA) Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) and South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation of Architects (SAARCH).

Most of the habitable areas are underground, tucked into the hillside, reducing the need for energy-driven air conditioning, while maintaining the original green ground coverage. Wind scopes provide natural ventilation and lighting deep within the habitable areas. Earth insulation reduces energy consumption and stabilizes cyclical temperature variations. The complex is one of India's best examples of energy efficient and sustainable architecture. It is also known for the use of a lightweight tensile structure over the dining hall providing soft, energy-free light. A recent addition is an underground conference hall that accommodates up to 80 people.

Efficient energy use Energy efficiency

Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature. Installing LED lighting, fluorescent lighting, or natural skylight windows reduces the amount of energy required to attain the same level of illumination compared to using traditional incandescent light bulbs. Improvements in energy efficiency are generally achieved by adopting a more efficient technology or production process or by application of commonly accepted methods to reduce energy losses.

Sustainable architecture

Sustainable architecture is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development space and the ecosystem at large. Sustainable architecture uses a conscious approach to energy and ecological conservation in the design of the built environment.

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United Nations Environment Programme organization

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Eastern Connecticut State University university

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Savitribai Phule Pune University university in India

Savitribai Phule Pune University, formerly University of Pune and University of Poona, is a collegiate public state university in Pune in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Established in 1949, and spread over a 411 acres (1.66 km2) campus, the university is home to 43 academic departments. The university is named after Savitribai Phule, a 19th-century Indian social reformer who is known for her contribution towards empowerment and emancipation of women through education. The university has affiliated colleges, departments, and research institutes, which are primarily in Pune.

Banaras Hindu University University in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

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Indian Institute of Advanced Study

The Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) is a research institute based in Shimla, India. It was set up by the Ministry of Education, Government of India in 1964 and it started functioning from 20 October 1965.

Environmental education Branch of pedagogy

Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating disciplines such as biology, chemistry, physics, ecology, earth science, atmospheric science, mathematics, and geography. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) states that EE is vital in imparting an inherent respect for nature amongst society and in enhancing public environmental awareness. UNESCO emphasises the role of EE in safeguarding future global developments of societal quality of life (QOL), through the protection of the environment, eradication of poverty, minimization of inequalities and insurance of sustainable development. The term often implies education within the school system, from primary to post-secondary. However, it sometimes includes all efforts to educate the public and other audiences, including print materials, websites, media campaigns, etc.. There are also ways that environmental education is taught outside the traditional classroom. Aquariums, zoos, parks, and nature centers all have ways of teaching the public about the environment.

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Aurora University

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College of Military Engineering, Pune

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YMCA Camp Tecumseh Outdoor Center is located in Indiana near the towns of Brookston, Indiana and Delphi, Indiana on the Tippecanoe River. The closest large city to Camp Tecumseh is Lafayette, Indiana, which is just across the Wabash River from West Lafayette. Camp Tecumseh was established in 1924 when citizens of Delphi raised $3000 to purchase the land which lies on a bend on the Tippecanoe river. The camp is named after Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief. Camp Tecumseh is fully accredited by the American Camping Association and currently serves over 4,000 campers every summer from throughout the midwest USA and the world. Camp Tecumseh is also open throughout the year, providing an Outdoor Education service for schools and a facility for retreats and conferences of all kinds. The facility serves over 30,000 people per year. It is an independent YMCA branch and is operated independently of other metro YMCAs.

The Energy and Resources Institute research institute based in New Delhi

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Katraj Neighbourhood in Pune, Maharashtra, India

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Institute on the Environment

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Indian Institute of Ecology and Environment

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National Institute of Construction Management and Research

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