Kids clean up
TERESA BARAT
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Students pave the way to a safe, green world.
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"They could have left our ice cream alone." lamented a student from Carmel Convent School at the seventh Community Led Environment Action Network (CLEAN) — India meet, held in New Delhi in February 2004. The meet was organised by Development Alternatives (DA), an NGO.
Carmel's environment club had put up an exhibit — showing how manufacturers use toxic chemicals like ethyl and benzyl acetate to give ice cream their fruity flavours. The exhibit also showed the use of a glue-like substance, made from the udder, nose, tail and rectal skin of animals, in the ice cream to add texture. DA started the CLEAN-India programme in 1996 with the belief that children can be powerful agents of change. Whether they are fighting against use of crackers and polythene bags or promoting eco-friendly festivals or paper recycling, when children talk, parents listen.
Today the CLEAN-India network has 25 schools in India working NGOs, civic bodies and corporate organisations to improve the environment. The CLEAN-India meet is an annual feature and an opportunity for the members to interact and share their concerns about the environment.
At the 2004 meet, students (about 400 in the age group of 10-17) attended workshops on topics like concern for animals, the use of toxic chemicals in food, and waste paper recycling. The children also put up colourful displays in stalls, offering some solutions to environmental problems.
Many of the stalls made a plea for eco-friendly festivals. Delhi Schools like the DAV Public School (Srestha Vihar) and Delhi Public School (Dwarka) demonstrated how Holi colours could be environment-friendly. Tea-leaf extract or henna powder can be used to produce green; for a yellow, sandalwood powder works well; and for a deep red, beetroot extract is the best.
Some students also suggested that during festivals like Durga Pooja (worship of goddess Durga) and Ganesha Chaturthi (worship of god Ganesha) unbaked and unpainted idols should be immersed in rivers and lakes. Students of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Kendra, Aurangabad (Maharashtra), collected all the flowers given as offerings during Ganesha Chaturthi, and instead of throwing them into the river, decomposed them to use as fertiliser.
The Aurangabad school students also showed how, with the help of worms (also on display), plastic bags and soil, organic kitchen waste can be converted into fertiliser and vegetables can be grown in these bags.
Another theme on display at the meet, was the value of tree planting and medicinal herbs. Students from St. Xavier's School, Kodaikanal (Tamil Nadu) reported that they had a herbary, where they grew eucalyptus and fennel (which have anti-septic and anti-fungal qualities); lemon grass (to cure headaches); hibiscus (to cure fever) and spearmint (for fever and gas problems). Delhi's Salwan Public School and Shri Ram School (Vasant Vihar) displayed herbal cures for common ailments.
Two Delhi schools, Sanskriti and Gyan Mandir put up a prize-winning exhibition on paper recycling. They showed how old newspapers and paper waste are converted into recycled paper.
The children also displayed several placards with messages pleading for an eco-friendly earth. Two of these — "Will the third World War be about Water?" and "In 2025 would water sell at Rs 100 per litre?" — warned of a grim future.
Students of Amity International School (Delhi) have been ecologically active in the H-block of Saket. With the help of the community and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), they have set up a solid waste management system. The garbage is segregated into wet, dry and hazardous waste. The wet and dry waste is thrown in red and blue bins while the hazardous waste goes into special bins supplied by MCD. Residents have responded very positively to this initiative.
For more about CLEAN-India, contact Development Alternatives at (011) 26851158, 26967938 or visit http://www.cleanindia or
Women's Feature Service
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