A portal that brings students close to nature

One Planet Academy is a digital hub

Students who want to learn about nature and do their bit for it can now turn to One Planet Academy, WWF-India’s environment education portal for students and teachers.

Launched in partnership with Capgemini, the website ( http://academy.wwfindia.

org ) focusses on various environmental themes and is a digital hub for schools, teachers, and students.

The State-level launch on Friday was attended by 62 students from 12 schools in the city and their teachers. Anvar Sadath, Director, IT@School, launched the portal. In his address, Mr. Sadath said One Planet Academy would go a long way in providing an infotainment platform for students to know, learn, and act for the planet. K. Gangadharan, Director, Museums and Zoos, and Renjan Mathew Varghese, State Director, WWF-India, spoke.

The students took a pledge to save the Earth and natural resources. Call for Green Action, an important component for schools on the portal, was explained by A.K. Sivakumar, Senior Education Officer, WWF-India.

A caption writing competition was held on the occasion.

The portal is intended to be a one-stop destination for information on the environment through interactive content. Students, teachers, and schools can login and read and undertake a host of activities. For instance, students can access e-books and stories, games, comics, interactive maps, films, and contests on the portal.

Green practices

Schools can choose from various green practices such as energy, water or waste audit and implement these to inculcate environmental consciousness among students.

For teachers, there are online training courses. There are also project and activity ideas that they can encourage students to become part of. Publications related to educating young learners about the environment are also available.

WWF-India also plans to conduct workshops, including nature trails, and talks on environmental issues and sustainable practices, as part of the initiative.