The green ambassadors of Sri Lathangi Vidya Mandir Matric H.S. School are eagerly waiting to meet former president Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. They are the winners of the various competitions held as part of the environmental campaign organised recently to mark the international year of forests.
The two-week campaign was intended to create awareness among students on global warming and call for sustained efforts to revive greenery. As part of the campaign, environmentalists enlightened the students on various topics like Green Earth, Save Our Globe, Plants in Everyday Life and Saving Water, Energy and Electricity.
The session by Anand, project co-ordinator, Green Initiatives of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Foundation, presented ways to reduce Global Warming, while Henry Narwil, coordinator, Project Green Hands, Pollachi, spoke on the importance of planting trees. Students found the power-point presentation by Arumugham, wildlife biologist and consultant, Anamalai Tiger Reserve, on the theme “Forest and biodiversity”, inspiring. Activities like essay writing, versification and painting were conducted. The slogan writing competition and preparation of badges for the campaign were interesting, said P. Vimala, Std. VIII.
Students from Stds. VI to XI, enthusiastically took part in the quiz competition based on the theme Go Green. The teams named as Lena, Land crusader, Marat, Ozone warrior, Sirius, Lord of trees, and Vanhel, the king of woods, vied for the first prize.
Green ambassadors
Forty students, who were winners of various competitions, were chosen as the green ambassadors of the school. The ambassadors would receive certificates signed by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. “We were all enthusiastic about the competitions when they told us that we would get a chance to meet Mr. Kalam,” said Radhika S., Std. VIII. We also did a poetry recitation in Bharatiya Vidyanikethan to encourage the students to plant saplings and take care of them, she said.
The campaign also saw active participation from some parents. They took part in writing and drawing competitions on the topic “Trees”. A nature walk around the campus was also held.
Uma Shankar, Project Green Hands, Isha Foundation, was the chief guest at the valedictory function. He urged the students to plant as many trees as possible. He asked the students to build a rapport with nature which would make life more peaceful.
“We learnt a lot about the variety of trees, methods of planting and preserving them. The presentation on wildlife was also interesting. The campaign was an eye-opener for us,” said Vimala.
Shankar prepared the mother nursery on the school campus and inaugurated the planting of saplings. The saplings were sponsored by Isha Foundation. Students dressed in green declared their commitment to the green cause. According to Radhika, 5,000 saplings are there in the nursery.
R. Shantha Devi, correspondent, V.A.T. Malini, director-academics, and N. Chandravathi, principal, coordinated the campaign.
