Although the international climate change talks that occurred last year disappointed environment-lovers, non-governmental organisations and individuals working towards a greener planet never feel defeated. They work hard in their own little ways to help make the public and students aware of environmental issues.
As part of Abu Dhabi Indian School's (ADIS) environmental education programme and green commitments, the school initiated a variety of activities to stimulate creativity and encourage innovative ideas on the part of students and parents.
Selected as one of the "green" schools in the Capital, ADIS has always been in the forefront when it comes to green initiatives.
Recently, the school's primary section carried out a series of activities aimed at inculcating positive environmental values and healthy practices at a younger age. The school's environmental drive offered food for thought to the young participants — on the necessity of healthy environmental actions.
Parents and children of primary classes participated enthusiastically, by creating beautiful items from waste materials. Young children in the age group of six to nine came up with novel ideas for putting recyclable materials to use. They created a range of amazing items such as hats, posters, models and many other utility items — to drive home the message "reduce, reuse, recycle".
Students learnt valuable lessons on how to reprocess waste. The whole exercise was done with the intention of catching them young and convincing them that a great deal can be achieved through motivation.
Cyrilla Sebastian, supervisor of the primary section, said: "These kinds of activities are not only useful in spreading awareness among students, but also helps them to learn more about the environmental challenges that the world faces now.
"Although it is a small step from our side, we look forward to conducting a lot of activities of a similar nature in the coming years."
All participants were given certificates of appreciation by the school.
The items were later displayed in the Climate Change Fair, which was held recently, at the school premises. The fair was organised by Prakriti, the school's environment club, and many officials from the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency attended the event.
— The reader is an English language teacher at Abu Dhabi Indian School.
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