‘ NATURE CAMPS’

For the last two years we were fortunate to have got nature education camps at Silent Valley National Park, Mukkaly. This year also we were selected for the same camp. Silent Valley is one of the oldest forests still at large in the face of earth. The ecological diversity is still not fully documented or studied. As our school is situated in the buffer zone of the park, it is of extreme importance to be aware of the value of the forest to humankind.

This year the camp for our club begins on October 26th and ends on the 28th. Lot of our young club members got inspiration from such camps. They remain attached to the club because they start to love nature when they see the beauty.

DEVELOPMENT IN CAMPUS (ECO-FRIENDLY)????

Quest for Sustainable develepment
Every society needs development; especially in the present education scenario Govt. schools need to compete with private institutions. Infrastructure is one of the key factors which attract students and parents. The qualities of teachers are much better than our competitors, so we need more buildings to accommodate our students to have better education. Our school also received grant from Govt. for construction of buildings, so that the shift system prevalent in our school will change. We welcome this step as a fortunate one. Thanks to the Wandoor M.L.A. Sri. Anil Kumar and other representatives of our locality in making the dream come true.
But what made us so sad was that the big patch of natural vegetation remained was to be viped out due to this construction. Lot of public spending are being done to grow trees, like ‘ ente maram’, National Rural Employment Programme’, social forestry programmes etc. In text books including that of languages lot of stress is given for the importance of environment protection. So the students raised a question:-
Was any other option ever discussed instead of the present one which has less impact on our enviroment?
The same question raised in our minds also. But sadly they doubts were never addressed. Protests were completely suppressed. More than 15 big trees, lot of shrubs and herbs were destroyed. We have earlier documented the medicinal herbs found in that area. A small riverulet-cum-drainage which used to flow during rainy season was filled up. The well supplying water to the student strength of more than 3000 students in the school is also situated in this area. The bio-diversity of the whole area is destroyed. We contacted several officials in Education, Forest and media for the protection of the same, but unfortunately none bore results. Local politics also played against those who stood for alternatives. Lot of verbal harassment still continues.
Why the same wood was not used for making furniture needed for more than 13 classes?
We also would like to see the Social Forestry Dept. to develop a vision which is more eco friendly. It should rise from the position of just giving clearances to the plans submitted by the parties to an authority which can recommend some alternatives which will enrich the environment/ lessen the damage to the environment.
We prepared some 17 pictures depicting our protests and our doubts. We want these questions to be considered when there is development. Holistic development which goes in hand without destroying the environment should be preferred.(For more pictures please visit our flickr site:)

MUSHROOM CULTIVATION (22nd August 2009)

This is a programme initiated by our club members. The aims of the programme are to develop & achieve the skill in agriculture, bio-farming along with ‘earning while learning’. 30 interested students were selected from various classes. Experts from Swadeshi Shastra Prasthan lead the programme. This programme was arranged on the 22nd August 2009, at school premises.
Karuvarakundu Panchayath Agricultural Officer Sri. Vijayakumar inaugurated the training programme. Head Master Sr.Bhaskaran Master presided over the function.
In his speech, Vijayakumar told various experiences and he also stressed about the dangerous side effects of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. He offered the club members packets of seeds of various vegetables to be cultivated at their home. He also asked the club members to initiate a vegetable garden in our school.

Sri.Suresh Master was the resource person in the training. He started from the history of mushroom cultivation, its nutritional value, its economics. These aspects made the students to hear the class attentively. It was a demonstration actually. We prepared the hay by dipping it in water for more than 20 hours and then boiling it for one hour, which helped to get rid of bacteria. Then we let the excess water in the hay to drain down. Only 30-40% of water is necessary in the hay. Then the hay was rounded and put in plastic covers. The seeds of mushroom were sawn by the sides of the cover. The cover was tightened and was kept in a special room where there will not be excess light. It was hanged on the wall as it should not come in contact with the ground. It will remain so for around 20 days then we have to remove the cover.

HARVESTING THE MUSHROOM
After 17 days the mushroom was ready for harvest. It was also due to the humidity present in the room where we kept it. Usually it takes around 20 days or more. The students participated in the training programme was present during the harvest. Head Master E.Bhaskaran inaugurated the harvest. It was sold on the spot to A.Vinod Master for an amount of Rs.100/- . we expect more earnings from this crop in the coming days.

The mushroom was harvested thrice. First on the 17th day, then on the 20th and finally on the 21st day. It was sold on the spot twice and once it was given away free of charge to two club members. More than 500 gms was harvested each time. One teacher who bought the mushroom told that it was very helpful to one of his relative suffering from cancer and who is under chemotherapy. It is found that the vomiting tendency is very less when the mushroom is taken.
But unfortunately it was destroyed by some mischievous & anti-social elememtns. The threads were broken and bags were thrown out. Our hearts broke when we saw the scene. But we decided that we will take up the battle and will do more farming of mushroom after taking some protective measures. Let not our enemies win.

‘ SEED’-Programme for the conservation of environment by Mathrubhumi

SEED- A green initiative of Mathrubhumi
The leading news paper in our state ‘Mathrubhumi ‘ has once again showed its social responsibility by starting an initiative to create awareness among the budding generation in our schools. We think that more than the financial help it created a mindset of competition like in a reality show, which will boost the various clubs in schools to do their best activities to protect environment and create a sense of awareness. We have also registered under this scheme. More than creating a campaign for their own benefit, this will go a far way and will deliver its benefit to the future generations also. We congratulate & thank ‘Mathrubhumi’ on this occasion for this bold venture.

SEMINAR ON:- THE ROLE OF STUDENTS IN THE CONSERVATION OF BIO-DIVERSITY (1ST AUGUST 2009)

The ecological importance of Karuvarakundu and the role of students in the conservation of the same was the topic on which a seminar was organised by our club. The seminar was inaugurated by the Wild Life Warden(Silent Valley National Park) Sri.S.Shivadasan,I.F.S. Development which is detrimental to the environment will do more harm in the future than good. He told that as an area adjacent to the Silent Valley National Park, Karuvarakundu has a special importance. The heartbreaking memories of the grand old trees cut down for the construction of new building should give internal strength to the students to work for a greener future. He observed that it is sad to note that such anti-environmental activities are taking place when the syllabi asks for a pro-active stand in this issue from the students.

Programme Co-Ordinator Dr.M.K. Harinarayanan, Kerala State Bio-Diversity Board and Dr.P.Balakrishnan, WRCTI Nilambur presented their papers on the flora and fauna of the western ghat areas respectively. A slide show was presented by Dr.Balakrishnan to demonstrate the fauna varieties found in this area.
After the paper presentation was over a question time was give to the students to clear their doubts. There was a influx of question from the students side.
The meeting was presided over by Head Master. Bhaskaran Master. A.Vinod, Sivasankaran, Sunil, M.Mani, Shifla.O..V, Favas Khan etc talked on the occasion.

National Green Corps (Eco-clubs):

We all know that we are part of the environment we live in. And the solution to many environmental problems lie in our attitude towards environment. Be it awareness to keep our surroundings clean or the realisation to conserve natural resources by re-using and recycling wherever possible, they all are attitudinal. On the surface it looks simple. But changing the attitudes of 100 crore people is not going to happen overnight. The best way to attempt to bring about a change in the attitudes in the society is through children. They have no vested interests. They are impressionable. They are our future. They are the single most important influence in any family. In this context the National Green Corps Progarnme (NGC) launched.
The main objectives of this programme are to educate children about their immediate environment and impart knowledge about the eco-systems, their inter-dependence and their need for survival, through visits and demonstrations and to mobilise youngsters by instilling in them the spirit of scientific inquiry into environmental problems and involving them in the efforts of environmental preservation.
ACTIVITIES
LIST OF SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES FOR ECO-CLUBS
• Organise seminars, debates, lectures and popular talks on environmental issues in the school.
• Field visits to environmentally important sites including polluted and degraded sites, wildlife parks etc.
• Organise rallies, marches, human chains, and street theater at public places with a view to spread environmental awareness.
• Action based activities like tree plantation, cleanliness drives both within and out side the school campus.
• Grow kitchen gardens, maintain vermi-composting pits, construct water-harvesting structures in school, practice paper re-cycling etc.
• Prepare inventories of polluting sources and forward it to enforcement agencies.
• Organise awareness programmes against defeacation in public places, pasting posters in public places and to propagate personal hygiene habits like washing hands before meals etc.
• Maintenance of public places like parks, gardens both within and outside the school campus.
• Mobilise action against environmentally unsound practices like garbage disposal in unauthorised places, unsafe disposal of hospital waste etc.
OBJECTIVES
• To make children understand environment and environmental problems.
• To provide environmental education opportunities for school children.
• To utilise the unique position of school children as conduits for awareness of the society at large.
• To facilitate children's participation in decision making in areas related to environment & development.
• To bring children into direct contact with the environmental problems facing the society they live in and make them think of solutions.
• To involve children in action based programmes related to environment in their surroundings.

Kerala Bio-diversity board

We have signed an agreement with the board to undertake a vermin-compost plant in our campus and also to undertake a field study on wetlands in our locality.
We are also thankful to Dr.Harinarayanan for coming to our institution and have a talk about the bio-diversity of our locality
Vision: Conservation of biodiversity and its sustainable utilization for the benefit of human beings

The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (Central Act 18 of 2003) envisages to provide for conservation of biological diversity of the country, sustainable use of its components, fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the use of biological resources and generation and dissemination of knowledge thereof. The Act has been put forth as the country’s response to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992.
India is the first country to have an Act of this kind, consequent upon which the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has been set up in the year 2004. . The National Biodiversity Authority and State Biodiversity Boards have the charter of acquisition of data and information pertaining to biological resources, reposition (storage and retrieval) of such information, generation of a knowledge base and dissemination of the knowledge for the benefit of citizenry.an

PRESENT YEAR PROGRAMMES-2009-’10.

Memorable Activities Undertaken in the past

‘PUZHA KAKKAN MULA’-Bamboo for the protection of rivers

This was a scheme intended to protect the side banks of rivers from destruction due to floods during rainy season, in natural way. As the Bamboo has a grass root system which will envelop the soil, helps in the prevention of soil from flowing away. Another added benefit is that after 3-4 years this bamboo can be harvested which will give good income to the owners of the land. This can be done in an industrial scale. The raw material for paper industry are lacking in our country, as the forest areas are not used for non forest activities. Local bodies like Panchayat can take up this scheme in a large scale as this will help income generating activities for the poor like NREG (National Rural Employment Generation) programme. It will also help them from wasting money in the construction of side walls which will be destroyed with in a small time span.
The response to this programme was so over whelming, that it was not possible to meet the demand from people.

‘ BIO-DIVERSITY REGISTER’

Viewing the biological importance of our campus we decided to document it. We were offered help from Mr.Mohandas, who is a traditional medical practioner and he is also one of the parents. He spent one full day with our students to help them identify the medicinal herbs, shrubs and trees found in our campus.

Many interesting and informational ideas were shared between him and the students. Students understood that many plants which were usually described as weeds were actually invaluable medicines. Still they can’t name all those plants, from which they knew that still there are many plants which aren’t still identified and studied about. The new and unknown diseases demand lot of bio-diversity. The register was presented to our Head Master.

SEMINARS:- Seminar of Bio-Farming

One day seminar on bio-farming techniques was conducted in the school. It was inaugurated by the Head-Master of our school and presided over by the PTA President. The papers were presented by Mr.M.N.Namboodirippad and Mr. Mohandas. As a traditional farmer and landlord Mr.Namboodiripad said that the preservation of the traditional types of seeds is very much necessary.
The loss of bio-diversity is not only in the field of seeds, but also in the field of cattle are in an alarming rate. It is the responsibility of the young to conserve these things for the future, as they don’t have any vested interests.
Mr.Mohandas, told that the growth of plants are a holistic process. Divine force is working upon such growth. So we should approach and treat them in such a way. The usage of ‘Panchagavya’ in bio-farming was described by him. He also described about its preparation.
He also made students relaxed with some breathing techniques. It made them feel fresh after such an exhausting session of class.

‘GREEN LEAF FILM FESTIVEL-

Categories:- SATHYAM, SHIVAM, SUNDARAM’
A Picture tells a lot more than thousand words. To see about the beauty, destruction and struggles, we decided to provide students an opportunity. In this regard a film festival was organised in three categories.
‘ The silence of the nature is very real.
It surrounds you…… You can feel it.
In the category ‘Sathyam’- the films screened were ‘Punarjanikal’ & ‘Nilavili’. These films discuss various problems faced by earth due to the over exploitation of earth.
‘Punarjanikal’ is a film about the young and elderly martyrs of endosulphan use in Kasargod Dt. This was shot focusing a girl child. It places a lot of question in front of the government and the society.
‘Nilavili’- the destruction to the nature in the name of development has been shown in this film. It has special importance in our context as such works are taking place around our surroundings in large scale. How to react against this? This is a question which we our self has to answer.
Expect to have hope rekindled.
Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways.
The dry seasons in life do not last.
The spring rains will come again.
In the category ‘Shivam’- the showcase was of struggle by various groups interested in the conservation of nature and the success in it. The morale of activists which is decreasing day by day will get a boost by watching these films.
‘Bhakkipatram’- the dreaded Gwalior Rayons factory at Mavoor was polluting the river Chaliyar for a long time. Not only this it was taking the bamboo & reed from these forests at such a cheap rate that may look like it was the responsibility of the Govt. to feed such dangerous institutions. But finally the people won the battle for the good, and the Chaliyar flows untainted.
‘Kaipu Neer’- another success story of people from Plachimada against another multinational giant. Uncontrolled water exploitation from a village forced the people including adivasis to stand up and take up the challenge. They don’t have any other option. Their water and soil has been contaminated by the water giant. This struggle also concluded in the win.
‘Beauty is truth, truth Beauty’,
that is all you know on earth,
and all you need to know.
Finally In the category ‘Sundaram’- the focus was upon the beauty of nature. It is said that we can conserve what we love. We will love only those which are beautiful. To thrust was to showcase the beauty of nature and build hope for a greener future in the young minds.
‘Wild Periyar’ – this film is one among the famous environmentalist Suresh Elamon’s documentaries about nature hotspots in the Idukki Dt. The flora and fauna of the famous Periyar Tiger Reserve are shown in this film. Many of the visuals are unforgettable.
‘Mannavan Chola’ & ‘ Mathikettan Chola’ – These films show the importance of the Shola type of forests. Within a small area the type of species found are of high. Its water producing capacity is also shown.
‘ Keralam Sasyashyamalam’- the beauty of our state Kerala is documented very well. Various types of vegetation found here are picturised.

‘ANNUAL TREE PLANTATION CEREMONY’

‘CLEAN UP CAMPAIGNS’

Whenever anybody thinks about clean up campaigns, everybody in the institution look forward to the club. We think that it is not the sole responsibility of the club to keep the campus clean. But we surely undertake such work as part of our commitment to the environment and the institutions where we live on.

‘ PHOTO EXHIBITIONS & SLIDE SHOWS

Slide show presentations are good tools to introduce children to the world of environment. We can present pictures with statistical data along with sound and animation. We would like to share some of the presentations here. If anybody has some other good ones, please don’t forget us.
Dr.Induchoodan, ( DFO), Dr.Sajeev (KFRI, Nilambur), Dr.K.Balakrishnan (WRCTI Nilambur), Dr.M.K. Harinarayanan,( Kerala State Bio-Diversity Board ), Sri. Sivakumar(Educational Officer, WWF), Jayaprakash (Paristhithi Padana Kendram, Nilambur) were some of the eminent
personalities who have showed some of their interesting works in the form of power point presentations.


‘ PHOTO EXHIBITIONS’
We conducted a wild life photo exhibition. The photos exhibited by were of wild life photographer Sri.K.Ramachandran Perinthalmanna. It was a special occasion for the students of our school to witness those beautiful pictures and to hear the blood clotting & heart throbbing encounters he had to do those photographs. He was always happy to clear the doubts in the minds of students and teachers. Those beautiful birds, deadly snakes, lions and the rare plants- it was an unforgettable experience for us.

GARDENING :-

ANTI-PLASTIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS

DRAWING & COLOURING COMPETITIONS

MOVE TO POPULARIZE INK PEN