School students shared ideas that could be practised in everyday life for a sustainable future like using refillable pens instead of use-and-throw ones, carrying own bags when going out and more use of solar energy.
The idea was to involve students and get them to think about ways in which they could reduce the pollution sitting in their homes, the organiser of the event said.
“If the glaciers are melting at the poles, what can we do sitting in Calcutta?” the organiser asked during the session.
The answers came thick and fast from “environment warriors” who attended the session. “By turning off the tap when I am brushing my teeth,” said Rutajit Ghosh, a junior school student.
Niveditha Manoj, another student, said students should prefer refillable pens to plastic ones.
Two online sessions were organised on Saturday by Vinisha, a non-profit working for the cause of the environment, on the occasion of the 10th death anniversary of Wangari Maathai, a Nobel prize winner and environment activist from Kenya.
“We are putting a lot of hope on all of you to make this world a wonderful place to live in. Vinisha is working for a green, clean, pollution-free world…. We are dependent on children to give suggestions and perform,” said Ramesh Chandran, the founder of Vinisha.
The session was attended by students of Classes V, VI and VII from seven schools — Bhavan’s Gangabux Kanoria Vidyamandir, Birla High School, National High School (Sarat Bose Road and Hazra campuses), Andhra Association High School, Loreto Day School (Eliot Road) and Bhavan’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Vidyaniketan, Haldia.
The non-profit also launched a website that would provide a platform to the student members to showcase all that they do for the environment.
