JOIN USSudana Residential School, Nehru Nagar, Puttur, has won the ‘Parisara Mitra’ a district-level award, instituted by Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).
The award, which carries a purse of Rs 30,000, is given to best among the several schools identified for its best practices in conservation of environment.
Headmistress of the school Shobha Nagaraj dedicated the award to correspondent of the school Rev Vijay Harwin and the students who have a penchant for green. Ever since the school was founded 26 years ago, environmental-friendly activities are being given due preference, she added.
Land of experiments
The campus, with both day and night boarding facilities for a total of 500 students from elementary to SSLC, is spread over eight acres of land. Five acres have been turned into a table of experiments, with a menagerie, a cattle-shed, a herbal garden, a pond, a vegetable-fruit garden and a biogas plant to name a few. The school is self-sufficient in many ways.
Of the total strength, the students of only class 7 and above are involved in green lessons. Apart from academics, it is a must for them to attend gardening classes once in a week. Keeping in mind the hazards of plastic, anti-plastic warriors are selected in every classes to collect plastic waste brought from home by fellow classmates once in a week and hand them over to local body.
Self-sufficient
As many as 15 cattle are being reared in natural environs with the help of professionals as well as students. The milk yield is not less than 90 litres per day, including morning and evening hours, suffice to cater to students in boarding, science coordinator of the school Prathima N G said.
The menagerie, which the students call as ‘mini zoo’, has herbivores like rabbits, goats, dogs, ducks, pigeons and several other species of birds. Prathima said the food waste is also converted into energy with biogas plant and pipe composting plants set up within the precincts. Apart from food waste, cow dung is also dumped into the plants.
The students volunteer to collect dry, wet and hazardous waste, she added. .Akshaya P, a student of class 9 was elated to recall, how the rabbits sneak into classrooms at times, while her classmate Ahmed Sayeed said the campus is similar to a village set-up where he grew up amid nature.
Awards
In all, 21 schools, including Sudana, were given awards in different categories. A total of 11 schools won green school award pocketing a purse of Rs 5,000 and nine schools with yellow school award with a purse of Rs 4,000.
The block education officer (BEO) of Puttur was also awarded for highest number of 13 schools from same taluk selected for awards, followed by five from Bantwal, two from Belthangady and one from Sullia.