This summer vacation was not just fun and frolic all the way for 28 students of Government High School, Edappally, as they got busy doing things for the betterment of the environment under the Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) — an initiative of the Department of Higher Education.
The World Environment Day observed on Tuesday marked the culmination of their vacation activities as they staged a mime on the rapid destruction of the environment and the need to check it besides publishing a newsletter on the topic. A one-hour class of ASAP was held throughout the vacation as part of the 180-hour package of communication skills and IT basics with 100 hours devoted to the former and the rest to the latter.
“Participants of the course divided into four groups undertook a host of activities, including a survey on environment, in the lead up to the Environment Day. Among other things, the survey formed the contents of the newsletter brought out on Tuesday,” said Anand Krishnamurthy, Skill Development Executive, ASAP. Articles on environment conservation, poems and paintings by students also featured in the newsletter.
During the vacation, a batch of students dropped in at Changampuzha Park at Edappally in the early morning hours to interact with the senior citizens out there for the morning walk. The interaction as part of the survey focused on the changing threat perceptions to environment with the passage of time.
Another group of students studied the pro-environment initiatives taken by a nearby mall.
Another batch visited local bakeries, which are considered to be one of the biggest proliferators of plastic. The students are also gearing up to submit a memorandum to the school headmistress to buy some steel plates and glasses to adhere to the green protocol and thus avoid environment degradation through the usage of plastic/paper plates and cups while organising various events.