Sacred Heart Eco Club (VASHI)

Tetra Pak Ambassadors’ Felicitation Programme at Delhi

My heart skipped a beat when I saw a mail from Pallavi Ma’am in which she told me that I had been invited for the Tetra Pak Ambassadors’ Felicitation Programme at Delhi on 20^th of April, 2012.the feeling was truly indescribable; so many thoughts crowded my mind all at once – how would my family react when they come to know that I would soon be going to Delhi? How proud my school would be of me!! I would get to boast of my trip to all my friends at school!! But what excited me the most was the fact that I would get to meet the friends I had made during the educational visit to the Daman Ganga recycling unit at Vapi as part of the TERI-TETRAPAK SEARCH programme.

Our train to Delhi was scheduled for 18^th April, 2012, at the Mumbai-Central station. The Rajdhani Express was the train that would take us to our destination – New Delhi. We reached New Delhi at about 5:30 pm the next day.

We were checked in at the Vishwa Yuvak Kendra or the International Youth Centre at Chanakyapuri where we would be staying for the next four days. The place had a very calm and serene ambience. The beautiful lawns around the place put our much tired bodies in a state of calm. The feeling truly is beyond the limitations of words.

The first day of our stay at Delhi is something that I believe all of us are going to cherish in the years to come. We were eagerly waiting for this day for well over a month. When you put a bunch of kids of the same age group in the same room, there is bound to be a lot of commotion. And that’s exactly what happened!! We sat up talking till 3:00am and got up at 5:30 am to get ready for the big day.

The felicitation programme was held on a big scale. Dignitaries from TERI as well from TETRAPAK were invited to grace the occasion. However, in my opinion, the most endearing and inspirational personality at the event was Sir Robert Swan, a distinguished personality who has dedicated his life to the Antarctic. He is the first person to have walked both the South and North Poles. He has set up a company called 2041 which is working to save the Antarctic.

After the conclusion of the programme we were given medals and a certificate as a token of appreciation of the work undertaken by us in order to spread the message on the usage of TetraPaks.

The next day, the students as well as the teachers, went on a shopping spree to Lajpat Nagar, which is any shopaholic’s delight.

The last day of our visit to Delhi, reminded us of how the place is history come alive. We started the day by going to the Baha’i temple, which is a lotus shaped temple of the followers of Bahaullah. The place is open to people of other religions as well, but what attracts most people to this place is the silence in which a troubled mind finds solace. The feeling has to be experienced in order to understand the beauty of peace.

We then went to Rajghat, which is Mahatma Gandhi’s Samadhi. The place is a beauty in itself. The lawns are maintained very well. The place has a lot of visitors; most of them being foreigners.

The Red Fort was the most amazing part of the visit. The fort houses the Mumtaz Mahal, the “Saawan” and “Bhaadon” gardens and was by far the most spectacular part of the sight-seeing. The place is huge and one should take out a minimum of five hours to absorb the beauty of the place.

We gorged on some delicious Parathas at the famous Parathewali Galli at Chandni Chowk.

Among the other places we visited was the Rashtrapati Bhavan, India Gate, and Connaught Place.

We also got the chance to travel in a metro.

We left for Mumbai on the 21^st of April, 2012 and reached on 22^nd April, 2012 at about 4:00 pm.

The visit to Delhi was something that I am sure all of us are going to remember for really long time. I would like to thank TERI for organizing this programme on such a large scale. I would also like to thank my school principal, Sr. Sharmila Fernandes, our manager Rev. Fr. Joaquim D’costa and my family for always encouraging me to do my best. But most of all I would like to thank my teacher, Mrs. Nirmala Nair, who has always been so supportive of me, because of whom I developed a liking towards the protection of the environment, and who always inspires me with her kind and helpful nature.

THANKYOU

BY RITHIKA KUMAR

TETRA PAK AMBASSADOR

SACRED HEART HIGH SCHOOL

VASHI

400703

Sacred Heart Eco Club (VASHI):Greenline Final Session And Evaluation

Our final session with Greenline was scheduled for 6^th March 2012. The jury consisted of Mr. Harshal Deshmukh (Urban Farmer), Ms. Steffi(Student of Ph.D. for Environment and Children) and Ms.-Aurla(Ph.D. in Ecology and Environment), along with Mr. Alden D’silva, Greenline member.

Mahesh and Akhilesh presented all the Eco-Club activities undertaken by us for the academic year 2011-2012. These included gardening activities using soil made fertile through the usage of Amrut Jal, making bird houses from waste benches from the classrooms, Bio purification using canna plant, setting up an environment policy in the school, etc. This was followed by the presentation made by Poorva, Rucha and Rithika, which was about the challenges put forward to us by Greenline. This included a water audit in both the primary and the secondary classes of our school. “Cut the flush” was another interesting activity which almost all of us have implemented in the school. Also, we went to the Morbe Dam as part of our school’s field trip and had discussions with the locals. We also sent a water sample from Sagar Vihar, which is a mangrove area, to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, for analysis. To make sure that this information does not remain only in the confines of the school we also had an interactive session with the students of Sainath English High School, Vashi and Anchorwala Education Society, Vashi. The students were very enthusiastic and also wished to contact Greenline for further insight into this project.

After a brief rundown of these activities, we had a question-answer session with the judges, which was very informative.

We then showed them all the various areas of our school where the Eco-Club activities have been implemented, like the vermicomposting pit, and the botanical garden. Also, they seemed to be very impressed with the number of projects from our school which have reached the national level.

The session was very inspiring and informative. I would like to thank the judges for their valuable insights. We here at Sacred Heart High School, will try our level best to try and do whatever we have been adviced to do. I would like to thank Greenline, for always pushing us to do our very best in whatever project we undertake.

-BY

RITHIKA KUMAR

ECO-CLUB MEMBER

SACRED HEART HIGH SCHOOL