CSE’s brings environmental education to children compelled to remain at home skipping schools due to lockdown

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage across the country, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has been working to ensure environmental learning does not stop while students remain in home under full or partial lockdown conditions. CSE’s Green Schools Programme (GSP) has stepped up with a unique online environmental survey –Audit@Home.Says Ranjit Menon, programme director, environment education unit, CSE: “The survey, which concluded recently, provided students with the opportunity to observe, assess and improve the resource consumption patterns in their households with respect to air, energy, food, biodiversity, water, and waste. “Open to all students of Grades 5 to 12, the survey was designed in a manner to make students understand various interconnections that play out and add to climate change — for instance, the relationship between waste management and air pollution. Personalized scorecards were shared with each participant with suggestions to transition to greener practices based on their score in the survey. “The survey essentially helped students gain insights into the practices followed in their households regarding waste management, food consumption, water and energy usage, etc. Becoming aware of their practices is an essential milestone and it is only after becoming aware that one can transform their ways to use as little and save as many resources as possible.” More than 47,000 students across 28 states participated in the survey and assessed their every-day environmental practices. The highest participation came from Delhi, with close to 8,000 students submitting the survey from government as well as private schools. The survey results pointed towards some promising aspects: 96 percent of the students who took the survey had energy-efficient lighting in their homes; 67 percent repurpose or give away food leftovers; and 51 percent use sustainable modes of transport like walking and cycling for their every-day activities. The survey results also flagged the areas where interventions may be required: for instance, 55 percent of the participants do not use renewable energy in any form. The survey results marked the current levels of awareness and future goals of environmental education. The process of the survey also helped students form an understanding of how their actions impact the environment directly and how those actions can be improved.(.courtesy for the image to The New Indian Express)