Samvid Gurukulam in collaboration with Friends of Vrindavan celebrated the World Earth Day on 22nd April in the campus of the Samvid Gurukulam. A seminar was organized in the assembly hall of the school in which the students discussed various environmental issues. Some guest speakers were also invited to interact with the students on this occasion. The students were worried about the diminishing green cover. They made a commitment to plant at least one tree in their life and nurture them to grow. But they were concerned about the non – availability of enough land where the trees could be planted.
In her welcome speech Smt. Gurinder Kaur, the principal of the school said, “The first step to become the Eco School has been taken, as we have partnered with Friends of Vrindavan to make our school as an Eco school. We have initiated the garbage management practices in the school by segregating the garbage and sending it to the FoV’s recycling units. We shall jointly plant trees in the school campus during monsoon.”
Dr. Arvind Kumar, the Scientific Officer of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) said, “The recent hailstorm was the result of the excessive pollution. We should do massive plantation and discourage the cutting of the trees. Unfortunately there is only three percent green cover in our district. We need to increase the green cover working closely with the forestry department. The UPPCB will sponsor as many trees as required by the students to plant in the school or any other place which may be adopted for the tree plantation.”
Shri V.P. Singh the Executive Engineer of the Electricity Department advocated the use of the organic manure in the farms. He said that if the farmers used the organic manure in their farm instead of the chemical fertilizers there would have been less damage of the crops. He asked the students to adopt the organic lifestyle.
Acharya Naresh Narayan, the editor of the spiritual magazine of the Anant Sandesh stressed the need of water conservation in Vraja. He expressed his concern on falling of the water table in various parts of Mathura. He advocated to reviving the traditional water harvesting systems by restoring the old water bodies.
Jagannath Poddar from Friends of Vrindavan said, the small steps taken by the students for the environment conservation will have big impact. He asked the students to go for the zero waste policy. He emphasized on the proper waste segregation at the source. The garbage should never be burnt to minimize it. It emits poisonous gases which is harmful for the health and environment.
The students asked many questions on the measures of the environment protection from the guest speakers. In the end of the interactive session, the students planted some trees in the school campus with a promise to do a large scale tree plantation during the monsoon.
