Know how this organisation is teaching young minds how to save the environment and lead a sustainable lifestyle
From teaching students how to make solar lamps and torches from discarded waste to creating awareness among urban and rural communities on environmental issues, Teach For Green is educating the youth to go green for a better tomorrow.
Over the years, in the name of development, the green cover across the globe has seen a sharp decline. This has not only affected our environment, but it has also affected us on an individual level. As the government looks at ways to increase the green cover through its tree plantation initiatives, the contribution of an individual towards the environment is also the need of the hour.
There are few NGOs and individuals who are working towards saving the environment by planting more trees, and creating awareness among communities. Among them is Teach For Green, a not-for-profit organisation that is spreading awareness about green energy, waste management, water conservation, and similar sustainable practices among students.
One of the DIY workshops on green energy organised by Teach For Green | Source: The Optimistic Citizen
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Started by three friends Ajay Kumar, Abhishek Chanchal, and Pratibha Baveja in 2016, Teach For Green has signed an MoU with over 10 Delhi and 30 Uttarakhand government schools where they have conducted 45 workshops.
Through these workshops, students are taught about waste management practices and how to reduce their dependence on plastic products by choosing a green alternative like paper and cloth bags.
A workshop conducted in an Uttarakhand government school | Source: The Logical Indian
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Further demonstrating ways to go green, the organisation asked students to bring in used plastic bottles and other discarded plastic products from their house. These items were upcycled and used as accessories to for gardening, pen stands, and for house decor, among others.
This activity led to a sharp decline in plastic consumption in every student’s home. According to the organisation’s survey the plastic waste generated from each home came down from 450gm to a mere 220gm. The impact was seen in all the 1,200 homes of the students who had attended the workshop.
In addition to motivating students to go green, the organisation has also worked in the field of nutrition in Champawat district, Uttarakhand. Here, the organisation had made kitchen gardens in government schools as part of their workshops, as fresh vegetables and supplements were inaccessible and had led to low nutrition level among the kids. The organisation has created 400 kitchen gardens in the backyards of community households, till date.
Teach For Green has also helped children of the community to participate in and win over 50 local and national-level science and environment competitions.
Ajay Kumar (left) and Ajay Kumar (right), Founders of Teach For Green | Source: The Optimistic Citizen
In a conversation with The Logical Indian, Ajay explained about their initiative for the school kids,
Our Green School Green Community Program is a 35-40-week programme, where environmental modules based on the NCERT curriculum are taught to students of government schools through the DIY approach.
The students are also taught how to use a plastic bottle, cardboard, or any discarded items to make solar lamps, and torch, reports Youth Ki Awaaz.
For Ajay and his organisation, the aim is simple: to sensitise students about environmental issues in their community and encourage them to think of unique solutions. With this, the kids will learn, and at the same time, implement solutions to solve practical problems.
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