St. Peter’s College: Pioneering Ecosystem restoration education to broaden student experiential learning

Picture shows Rev. Fr. Rohitha Rodrigo, Rector of St. Peter’s College, exchanging the MOU with Shevon Gooneratne, Director of PLANT, in the presence of Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne (PLANT Chairman) and Anusha Vithanage)

Embracing Nature, Environmental stewardship, and Ecosystem Restoration education are being prioritized at St. Peter’s College as crucial skills for young Peterites as they embark into a world where nature needs a lot of healing and nurturing, a ews releasing covering this development said.

As a premier Catholic educational institution in Sri Lanka, the foundations for this pioneering vision were put in motion a while back through the acquisition of a largely cultivated 50-acre block of land in Dodangoda, Matugama, which was renamed “The Rock”. As a second step, the construction of accommodation facilities commenced, which will soon enable students to spend a few days in residence and go through an immersive holistic experiential educational which will be a blend of classroom content, nature friendly experiences and hands on exposure to multiple elements around the location,the release said.

In a major pioneering move on this journey, St. Peter’s became the First Educational Institute to partner with WNPS PLANT which is Sri Lanka’s largest Private Sector driven ecosystem conservation initiative, seeking to develop forest corridors within the endemic-rich southwestern parts of Sri Lanka. WNPS PLANT (Preserving Land and Nature (Guarantee) Limited) currently works in over 34 locations, is developing over 50 kilometers of forest corridor, is creating hundreds of acres of new forests and plays refuge to over 1,300 species across its different conservation partnership locations.

PLANT is establishing natural sanctuaries and reserves directly and through partners, to prevent the destruction and harmful commercial exploitation of species of wild animal and plants and is keen to co-operate actively with other persons and organizations in Sri Lanka and in other countries in the interests of nature conservation and to give support for study and research concerning wildlife.

PLANT has access to multiple academic and research-oriented individuals, institutions and initiatives, and will support St. Peter’s by further sharing this knowledge among students. PLANT was established by the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS), which is Sri Lanka’s largest and most active conservation entity, and is backed by over 40 global and local partners. PLANT will conduct a biodiversity assessment of the location and hopes to develop forest corridors along the perimeter of this property to facilitate seamless wildlife movement and peaceful coexistence with agricultural lands.

Students and members of the college Eco Club will have the opportunity to engage in restoration activities, tree planting, and supportive forms of research engagement. Students also have new opportunities to engage in broader conservation work on outside locations, through the PLANT and WNPS networks. Against the backdrop of the terrible floods and landslides in recent times, St. Peter’s is demonstrating through this partnership, that Ecosystem conservation is the responsibility of all parties and communities in Sri Lanka, and this move will hopefully signal the start of many more educational institutions to foster these values among youth and seek partnership with the likes of PLANT and WNPS in the future.

This article first appeared in The Island on the 4th of January 2026.