Going the green way

With global warming being such a pertinent issue, it is important that the present generation of school students are  taught the importance of being environment friendly and the colour green in our everyday lives. The first step in this process should begin at schools — helping students connect with the environment, through both learning and experience. Various schools in the city have chosen the green path, even celebrating a green Independence Day this year by planting saplings across the school campus. The eco-club at Chettinad Vidyashram has tied up with EXNORA to collect all the waste paper on campus, including within the classrooms, to recycle and reuse them. “We are trying to use paper bags in canteens and make bags with old T-shirts to carry our extra books,” says Rohit J, a Class 10 student at the school. His friend Srinath C adds, “We are implementing manure pits inside the campus so we can grow the plants with natural fertilisers.” The involvement of teachers in this process is also significant. “We need to generate awareness and make children more sensitive to environmental issues,” says Jayanthi Barath, a teacher at the school. When Kola Perumal Chetty Vaishnav Senior Secondary School won the  ‘Green and I’ competition a few years ago, conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industries, the students made their presentations under the theme ‘Greenery generates life, so let us generate greenery’. Since then, the school has had eight rain water harvesting systems, a roof-top garden and has reduced their electricity bill by over 30 per cent! There are also other benefits to having a green school. “Sometimes we pluck flowers from the school garden to learn dissection or collect a few mounds of earth to understand the water retention capacity of soil,” explains Prajwal Sunil, a biology student at Chettinad Vidyashram. G S Ganesan, Vice Principal offers, “Each student who tops a class should plant a sapling and be responsible for it till the end.”