Dire warnings, but young Akshaya of Holy Angels’ school, Nanthancode, could not have communicated the impact of human action on climate better when she said man would not survive once the last tree had been cut, the last fish eaten, and the last river poisoned. One had to take action to protect the environment, not wait for others to do something, she said.
Akshaya was making a presentation as part of Climotsav, a three-day summer camp, organised by Project Sthithi under the Change can Change Climate Change initiative, that concluded at the LBS Institute of Technology for Women here on Wednesday.
30 children
As many as 30 children, some as young as 10 years, attended the camp, which saw a number of interesting activities to familiarise them with climate change, its impact, and how it could be countered. After hearing Akshaya’s presentation, the students resolved to campaign for discontinuing the use of single-use straws at Saphalyan Complex and other shopping malls in the city. The camp began on Monday with Planning Board member Mridul Eapen talking about climate change and sustainable action. These included a session in which the NSS unit of the college spoke to the children on waste management through segregation by drawing upon their experience of implementing green protocol in the college. The children visited waterbodies and then spoke of their impressions about it and how to revive them, especially through campaigns.
A model conference of parties was held on day two of the camp. It saw the children give presentations on their experiences of water scarcity in the city and water conservation, waste segregation, dump sites in public places, renewable energy, reuse of stationery, eco-friendly alternatives, and so on. Plays, nature walk, and poster exhibition were the other activities held. On Wednesday, the last day of the camp, Nanniyode agricultural officer S. Jayakumar introduced the children to various seeds and vegetables grown at Nanniyode.
‘Kanikonna’
A discussion was held under a ‘kanikonna’ on the college premises, the tree symbolic of resistance to climate change. The children took a pledge to plant more trees such as the Kanikonna.
A campaign to use ink pens to prevent generation of plastic waste was launched on the occasion.