Over 4,000 children from across 400 schools in the city gathered at Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s residence on Friday to participate in the grand carnival organised by the Delhi Government to mark the culmination of Earth Week-2013.
The theme for the Earth Week was ‘Re-use, Recycle and Reduce’ and so the carnival ground was decorated with recycled materials including colourfully-painted discarded bottles, wood waste and tubes.
“The children enjoyed the festivities and learnt about the state of the environment in a fun, interactive, and action-oriented way. In addition a book on ‘The Asola Wildlife Sanctuary’ by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and a poster on ‘The Common Butterflies of Delhi’ by WWF India were released by the Chief Minister,” noted a release issued by the Delhi Environment Department.
An upgraded nature trail, showcasing the flora and fauna, was also inaugurated during the event. To upgrade the nature trail a watch tower, tree and shrub signages, badges and a new illustrative booklet to this repertoire have been added.
Speaking on this occasion, Ms. Dikshit said: “Nature provides inspiration and teaches us how to smell, taste, listen, recreate, study, identify and express ourselves. The nature trail has been instilling in the various visitors a spirit of scientific enquiry, enhancing their skill of observation and most importantly creating and understanding about the green environs.” She added that experiencing nature and learning from it is one of the best ways of understanding the environment.
At the event each student calculated his own “Earthy Day Quotient” and also signed a pledge to do their bit to nurture Mother Earth. Children played environmental games and participated in other interactive sessions like story-telling, animal mask-making and poster making. This was followed by musical performances by students and screening of wildlife films.
