Students of Lourdes Central School in the city participated in various activities to mark Vanmahotsav’ in their school. The ‘Vanamahotsava’ (festival of forests), with the theme, ‘Plant A Tree And Save The Planet,’ is celebrated throughout the country from July 1 to 7 every year.
Many activities
Harshitha Shetty, Science teacher, LCS said that 360 students, from Stds VI to VIII, took part in the events. The activities in the school started with drawing and painting competitions based on the 'Vanamahotsava' theme. Students also participated in making posters on topics such as environment, nature and afforestation. She said that the saplings the students planted were from the Forest Department. Clifford Lobo, Range Forest Officer, Mangalore, was the chief guest for the programme. He said that a project called ‘Haseeru Mangaluru’ is trying to make Mangalore greener. In this venture, saplings have been planted in and around city limits, schools and highways.
The students put up a play titled ‘The beauty of Vanamahotsava’ and learnt about trees all through a week. The programme ended with saplings given to the students to plant and take care of. Reena and Rhea, twins who study in Std VII, said that they learnt how trees should be saved. They got a badam sapling, which they added to their garden. They are looking after the saplings themselves, said Geetha, their mother. Aman Rodrigues, a student of Std VI said, “We learnt we have to save our trees and stop cutting trees.” He said that in school, the students planted a badam sapling. The students got saplings of mango, chikoo and jackfruit.
“I got a mango sapling...I have planted it in a small garden in my apartment and I water it everyday,” he said. Sristi Rai, a student of Std VIII, said that the school's gardening ministers Manith Shetty and Shashwath Rai and teachers Gretta and Harshitha helped organise the day's events. She said she learnt that it is important to nurture trees and plants and contribute to such festivals actively. The students planted 300 saplings. However, she was unable to take a sapling home due to lack of mud at home (lack of space and floors covered with tiles).
