World Earth Day is a reminder for us to protect and nurture mother earth and its species, to make it a better place for the coming generations. And, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation by exactly saying so in a video through tweeter: “#EarthDay is about expressing gratitude to Mother Earth for her kindness and reiterating our commitment to care for our planet.”
#EarthDay is about expressing gratitude to Mother Earth for her kindness and reiterating our commitment to care for our planet. pic.twitter.com/wVeQ6qmLm2
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 22, 2022
Several schools across India held special sessions and activities to mark the day and create awareness among students.
Ridge Valley School, Gurugram joined forces with an UN-accredited non-profit, 1M1B to celebrate the Earth Day (April 22) with its young Climate Champs. In the live event organised by 1M1B, three Climate Action Heroes from the school participated in a discussion on climate action and sustainability. As part of the school’s mission to integrate organic farming into the campus to contribute to the sustainable development goals, six acres of land on the school campus have been set aside for the purpose. The initiative will also encourage students to engage in organic farming, grow their own food, and help them understand the importance of food security; thereby creating a healthy green India.
Nidhi Tewari, principal, said, “The transformation will only take place if we bring in innovative pedagogies, increase creativity and collaboration, and incorporate ecological literacy; thus, enhancing our ability to understand the basic principles of a connected nature and how to live accordingly. It is critical that we look at sustainability as a community practice and understand how nature sustains life in order to truly be responsible eco-citizens and ensure a better future for the planet.”
The organic farm in the school will be managed by students who are a part of the environment club, as well as the horticulture team. Among the plants and vegetables grown on the organic farm are ladyfinger, spinach, cabbage, spring onion, tomato, carrot, radish, bottle gourd, pumpkin, coriander, lettuce, brinjal, and potato.
Manisha Bagchi, a Grade XII student, stressing on the importance of preserving the planet through meaningful initiatives commented, “Our home is on fire! And it’s about time we realized the repercussions. We all must come together and take action toward change. Change is needed now, more than ever.”
Another student, Suhaani Oberoi, studying in VIII Grade, added, “To protect the planet Earth we can adopt simple habits like planting more trees, turning off vehicles during a red light, switching off lights and fans when not in use, avoiding plastics, and so on. If we start taking these small steps today, I am sure tomorrow will be a much better day.”
Summer Fields School, a school in south Delhi celebrated Earth Day in the morning assembly where the message of the Day was beautifully manifested through thoughts, role play, poetry, music, and dance performances.
Vinamrata Chawla, Std VII, said, “The Earth Day activities today have helped me to reflect and think as how I can save my planet. We need to be a green team and together will my friends, I will try to conserve energy and save natural resources.”
A wide range of activities had been organised for students such as yoga with nature, nature craft clay workshop, sapling plantation, seed bombing, and video conferencing of students of India and Ukraine so that they understand the need to restore Earth’s environment to its former glory. The students got inspired to save, love, and respect Mother Nature with all their hearts and soul. e global citizens.
‘Cartons 2 Classroom’ gift to Mahim Police Colony school, Mumbai
‘Cartons 2 Classroom’ was launched last year as an extension of Tetra Pak’s ‘Go Green with Tetra Pak’ Program. It brings together two important goals – increasing awareness around recycling used beverage cartons and providing quality education infrastructure for less-privileged children. This is a joint initiative between Tetra Pak, Nestlé a+, Reliance Retail and RUR Greenlife.
On World Earth Day, the first milestone of the program was celebrated by handing over much needed desks, to Mahim Police Colony school, Mumbai. The school currently accommodates students upto 8th standard, and caters to approximately 150 students from lesser privileged families. More desks will be handed over to other schools in need over the next few months.
The first Earth Day happened 51 years ago when CBS News’ Walter Cronkite called it “a day dedicated to enlisting all the citizens of a bountiful country in a common cause of saving life from the deadly byproduct of that bounty.
