Focussed and Active—St. Dominic Savio High School, Andheri

The traffic was harrowing, the surroundings noisy, and the air thick with smoke. We were in what is probably one of the most polluted areas of the city—Andheri. But in the midst of all this confusion, the campus of St. Dominic Savio High School turned out to be a green oasis. The students and their teachers are well on their way towards creating a simple and replicable model of an environment-friendly school.

    

The students began by explaining to us that each of the four houses of the school has selected a specific area of work:
 
Red House—Energy conservation
Blue House—Water conservation and harvesting
Green House—Tree plantation and care for the ‘land’
Yellow House—Waste management
  

The leaders of these four houses and a handful of other students have come together to form a group called the ‘Green Crusaders’. With the help of their teacher, Mrs. Sarita, they have taken up initiatives such as segregating waste, identifying and replacing faulty taps, ensuring that electricity is conserved, creating awareness through assembly sessions and charts, and setting up a vegetable garden. Their future plans include switching to energy-efficient lighting and composting their wet waste. They have also begun documenting their projects through a monthly newsletter.
  
The students also told us how, at the beginning of the year, their teachers had challenged them to turn their ideas into actions. And without doubt, they have risen to the challenge!