Environment monitoring is essential for evaluating environmental planning and policy. Long term monitoring helps in evaluating the success of policy as well as helps in identifying areas for improvement. Environmental monitoring provides a vital scientific insights of long-term trends apart from new knowledge and understanding. For Example, monitoring of Bangalore wetlands during the last two decades, provided evidence of poor environmental status of wetlands in Bangalore affecting the land and groundwater sources in the vicinity. Due to its distinctive contributions to science and practice, monitoring is an integral aspect of ecological research, management, and policy.
Environment monitoring in the neighbourhood would help in the preservation of natural resources (lakes, parks, street trees). During 2011-12, we attempted the deployment of student community from high schools and colleges to document biodiversity under the banner ‘My Village Biodiversity’ in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka State.   This helped in the compilation of biodiversity information of 300 villages within a year. Competitions were conducted for students and nominal rewards announced for the best reports and good presentations. No financing of the educational institutions has been done to carry out this model of work. The objectives of environment monitoring is to generate “Environment Sensitive Citizens” required for the sustainable management of natural resources. This approach includes:

1. Sensitisation of students:  Pre testeddata formats is aimed at sensitizing students to environment, biodiversity and ecology related issues. 
2. Recording observations: Study and understand data formats necessary in the contemporary contexts of conservation and sustainable use. Regular monitoring would help in updating the environment information.
3. Vital information on goods and service: documentation of goods and services and their significance in meeting the people’s livelihood.
4. Low cost methods: long term monitoring would provide information and technique would be cost effective
5. Creating ambassadors of goodwill: Students, with their unbiased minds were expected to merit greater acceptability in the neighbourhood, as the local people otherwise tend to be more reserved with outside agencies like NGOs engaged in such work.
6. Expertise in communication:Students were expected to gain good communication skills.
7. Capacity building:  Students and teachers will have an opportunity to interact with the researchers from Indian Institute of Science, apart from taking active part in LAKE 2014 at Parisara Sabhangan, Sirsi, Uttara Kannada, Central Western Ghats during 13-15 November 2014 (details at the end of this report).