Haritholsavam: Students walk to green world

Thiruvananthapuram: Green is an important colour, according to  education minister C. Raveendranath.  “Environmental stability has been affected by human actions driven by profit motives.   To bring back environmental stability, there should be more ‘Haritham’ or green colour on the soil. Green is the colour which can create food. Chlorophyll, the green pigment, is the only substance that can convert light energy, helping plants to store it as food,” he said. He was inaugurating ‘Haritholsavam,’  a year-round school campaign of Haritha Keralam Mission, at the Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Cotton Hill  on Thursday.

The campaign’s objective is strengthening  school students’ link  with nature. It will be implemented with the support of general education department. It has been envisioned as ten festivals celebrated on the dates significant for the environment,  including World Environment Day on June 5, World Nature Conservation Day on July 28 and Ozone Day on September 16. The next important date in this calendar is Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. Mission vice-chairperson T. N. Seema said, “a booklet has been brought out detailing the slew of activities to be pursued in the programme. To implement it, a teacher coordinator will be chosen from every school which is interested,” she said.

The booklet has been prepared by a group of environment educators  and experts at SSA and SCERT. The activities listed include creating biodiversity park, measuring rain and conducting a waste audit. Schools which conduct all the activities will be declared ‘Harithvidyalayam.’