Bhaloo, the bear, preaching in the school assembly! And that too, lecturing on a grave issue like global warming that threatens to destroy our planet…. Seems a remote possibility but that’s exactly what is happening at Lakshmipat Singhania Academy (LSA).

The school has recently started a Global Gang to “save the earth before it melts”. Other schools, such as Heritage, have introduced an awareness programme to free the environment of pollutants and to save power and water.

It seems Calcutta is gearing up to fight global warming from the school-level. “It will definitely help if we can spread awareness among the children,” says Arpita Bose, the principal of a Montessori school.

Anjali Chopra of LSA, the brain behind the Global Gang, agrees: “If we make them aware of the ill effects of global warming through practical lessons, they, in turn, will educate the elders.”

Realising the necessity, schools like Mahadevi Birla, Calcutta Boys and La Martiniere for Girls have included global warming in the syllabus.

At LSA, the fledgling Global Gang has a different approach. “Waste-free lunch has been made mandatory. A circular has been issued to the parents urging them not to use plastic packets that pollute environment,” adds Sunita Arora, the co-ordinator of LSA.

The gang holds a classroom survey daily, checking dustbins for polluting stuff. They check on how their fellow students are following rules like turning off taps after using them. The gang then submits a report on the basis of which the class that did the best is decided.

“We teach our kids about the effects of global warming in various ways,” says Meenakshi Atal, the vice-principal of Heritage.

According to parent Monica Dutta, glaciers breaking to pieces and tsunamis lashing coastlines are effects of man-made pollution and that should be explained to the students while they are growing up.

Even pre-school toddlers have been included in the gang. “They no longer wash hands at the water cooler or waste water in the loo as they have been told that they might miss out on a shower years later if they do not start conserving water now,” says Harwinder Dhillon, a pre-school teacher and the president of the Global Gang.