Chaos in Copenhagen, green peace in city schools

While Gordon Brown and Hillary Clinton are busy talking big, school kids back home are taking tiny steps towards conservation through the 'conserve my campus' campaign

Chaos in Copenhagen, green peace in city schools

While Gordon Brown and Hillary Clinton are busy talking big, school kids back home are taking tiny steps towards conservation through the 'conserve my campus' campaignu00a0

Conservation, like charity, begins at home. And children, unlike bureaucrats and avant-garde activists, seem to understand that pretty well. 'Conserve my Campus' is a unique programme that today stands strong in schools across Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai, urging tweens and teens to do what the higher-ups can't seem to.

Forever files

Pioneered by Heme Hattangady, MD of Schneider Electric Conzerv India, and conceptualised and developed by activist Dr Kamla with the idea of educating young minds about the importance ecological balance, the initiative has two important modules.

The team, divided into five groups, namely Water, Earth, Waste, Air and Land, work towards conserving their respective elements. The kids engage them in detailed environmental learning of processes like the Greenhouse effect and Global Warming and are sensitised to the importance of alternative sources of energy and their optimum utilisation. And this isn't about classroom lessons; it happens through fun-filled practical activities.

The Green Ambassadors are also groomed and trained to conduct energy audits, evaluate energy consumption at homes, tally data with domestic electricity bills, and they've also participated in numerous team activities such as presentations, group discussions and preparation of energy reports.

"We get a very good response from these kids, and the electricity bills of the member schools have come down drastically. Next year, we will expand its scope to urban activity, but right now, its rural-issues centric," says Dr Kamla, programme director .

And the star performers are being rewarded likewise. Aayushi Gupta of Amity International School, Noida, has been awarded the Energy Star for this year. Aayushi's energy conservation drive resulted in a 50 per cent cut in the monthly power bill, which came slashing down to Rs 5800 per month from Rs 11, 000 last month. Another student of this school created a car that runs on wind power. And the rest of the country's still talking about it!

For more details you can log in to the website: www.conservemycampus.com

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