Starting Young—St. Theresa’s High School, Bandra


12th August 2011

Common sense and conviction are the foundations of caring for the environment—this is what we learned from our session at St. Theresa’s High School, Bandra. Since many of the Nature Club members are very young students from the 5th and 6th standards, we were not too sure whether ideas like ‘environment’, ‘conservation’ and ‘responsibility’ would make sense to them

But we were in for a surprise! The children responded to the session with the simple idea that since the Earth is our home, we depend on it and we must take care of it. They insisted that none of them want to merely complain about the state of the environment; rather, they want to do something to improve it.

The students stressed the fact that besides problems that need to be solved, the environment also comprises many assets that should be improved and protected. This led us to discuss the possible ways of making an environment map of the school and its surroundings, and the ways in which to identify the most important issues.

We were also impressed by the enthusiasm of the teachers—this was the only session in which we’ve had 5 teachers in attendance! The entire experience left us convinced that this school, by starting young, is on its way to creating environmentally conscious citizens.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From Ideas to Action—Sacred Heart High School, Vashi

Image
25th January 2011 ‘This is my plant!’ piped a tiny student of Sacred Heart High School, proudly showing off her sapling. We were impressed—these students, and their eco-club in particular, have taken decisive steps to make their school a greener and healthier place.       Our visit began with the eco-club, led by their teacher Mrs. Nirmala, showing us their garbage management system, where wet waste is composted and used as fertilizer for plants. This led us to their next initiative, a small garden of medicinal plants. They then explained how they’ve succeeded in combining environmental consciousness with utility by setting up an organic garden where they grow vegetables with the manure generated from the school’s wet waste. They also went on to show us how they are trying to involve other students in their greening activities by getting them to bring their own plants to the nursery.
Read more

Setting the Standard—Sacred Heart High School, Vashi

Image
3rd October 2011 The students of Sacred Heart High School Vashi are not only implementing green projects in their campus, but are also making sure that environmental consciousness becomes a permanent part of their school culture. In their second session on Environmental Leadership, the students of the Eco-Club presented the draft environmental policy that they have been working on. The most striking feature of the policy so far is that the draft was prepared in an entirely democratic fashion. The process began with all students from Stds. III to X participating in a competition to select the best policy suggestions. After this, the teachers selected the best suggestions, which were debated by the eco-club members and the house captains. The policy was then drafted by the eco-club. The environmental policy covers four sectors—Supplies, Waste, Energy and Events—and includes a variety of possible practices, from reusing decorations at events to having regular energy consumption report...
Read more

The Bird that goes: Tuk-Tuk-Tuk..

Image
Did you know that Mumbai has its own dedicated ‘city bird’? You might think that this title has been given to the common crow or the blue rock pigeon or maybe even to the house sparrow; because these are birds that Mumbaikars come across all the time. But what if I tell you that none of the above hold the coveted title of being our 'city bird'?  The city bird of Mumbai is the Coppersmith Barbet and it is also known as the Crimson-breasted Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala). This bird is more often heard than seen and it is known to make a monotonous call that goes like, tuk-tuk-tuk. The call resembles a coppersmith repeatedly hitting a copper sheet and this is how it gets its name. The Coppersmith Barbet is also known to make an early morning call to welcome the sunrise. Haven't you heard this call in your locality? Coppersmith Barbets can be found near wooded areas, gardens and possibly even in the greener patches around your residence. They often inhabit...
Read more