Eco-friendly living is the new norm among people across the globe. Campuses in Kerala, too, are a part of the movement that is growing every day. Different measures are being taken to implement green protocol on various campuses in the state, as those who have lush green campus try hard to maintain that. And, slow and steady these measures find a place among students. On the World Environment Day, which falls today, we take a look at different eco-friendly activities a few campuses in Kerala have adopted.
Sri C. Achutha Menon Government College in Thrissur is a fine example of living close to nature. The vast campus, which was once a barren land, is a green grove now. “It was years of work to make it green. Volunteers of NSS, NCC, other students and teachers worked together to plant saplings and water them regularly to make this happen,” says Aparna Suresh, third year B.A. History student, who was secretary of NSS last year. “However, we didn’t have fruit-bearing trees on our campus. Hence, we cultivated a fruit-tree garden last year as the union initiative. We also have a nakshathra vanam and palamarakaadu on campus,” she says. She also observes that bringing trees to the campus helped in solving water scarcity to some extent. “We grow vegetables too. The crop varies each year. Even during vacations, students or teachers make it a point to water the vegetables.” The college is also on a mission to replace plastic with bio-degradable materials.
For St. Teresa’s College, Ernakulam, green protocol has been a part and parcel of campus life for the past three years. So far, they have implemented many ideas such as promoting LED bulbs, use of stainless steel utensils and cloth bags. The latest venture is Changathi Chepu, where they create pencil pouches using waste clothes. Dr. Nirmala, a teacher, who spearheads the activities says, “Sometime back when we conducted a survey among students, we realised that majority use rexin pouches. So, we decided to replace it with cloth pouches. For that, we collect waste textile materials from nearby tailoring shops and bring them in various designs.”
Not only that, at the coffee counter, the authorities have replaced paper cups with steel cups and, at the snacks centre, throw-away plates are substituted with reusable ones. “Instead of plastic straws, we have paper straws. Also, we don’t encourage spiral binding and plastic-coated projects. We ask students to go for hand-binding and use chart paper in the place of plastic coats. They are also instructed to bring lunch in steel boxes, and once in a month, we observe public transportation day to encourage students to commute in public transportation services. No one is allowed to bring their own vehicles to campus on that day.” They are even planning to make the reopening day Holy Mass eco-friendly.
She also stresses that their efforts are not confined to the four walls of the campus. “We take some of them out to benefit to others. For instance, we have coordinated with the local authorities and opened units of Changathi Cheppu in places like Tripunithura, Mulanthuruthy and Mulavukadu.” And, Nirmala says they use trolls to catch the attention of students who spend a lot of time on social media platforms.
Not just them, other colleges are also working towards a green campus. The recent exhibition of cloth bags organised by SCMS School of Technology and Management, Choornikara, is an example. The Sacred Heart College, Thevara, too vows to protect nature and fight pollution. The college premise is declared as plastic free and efforts are being done to protect backwaters that provide a serene ambience to the campus.
With the new academic year begins in a day, let us hope that these efforts will instill eco-friendly thoughts in the minds of millenials.
