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Journalism of Courage
In a Goregaon school,children are learning to be eco-friendly from a young age and their numbers are growing. The Valmiki Eco School,which started in 2010 with nine children has 150 on board now. Its a regular school that weaves eco-friendly lessons into academic and extra-curricular activities.
At Valmiki,we aim at getting students closer to nature and teaching them to be eco-friendly. Along with everyday lessons,we teach them simple ways to save energy,and conserve nature, said Nikita Pimpale,founder and principal of the school,a joint initiative of Eco Folks and Dnyansadhana Education Society.
Students are made to pass on textbooks to juniors,and use cloth bags instead of plastic bags. Notebooks are with several blank pages are handed over to the same student for use in the next academic year.
We want students to understand and implement the concept of re-use and re-cycle early in life. Reducing wastage of paper is stressed. Textbooks of higher classes are passed on to the lower classes for three years before they are donated to some other school, said Pimpale.
Most students at Valmiki are from the lower socio-economic strata. We charge an annual fee of Rs 7,000 and provide them with books,uniform,shoes,bags. We take them on nature trails and field trips and conduct workshops for them. We want them to learn through practical experiences and exercises. Subjects like geography,science and EVS are taught by taking them on nature trails, said Paresh Pimpale,founder of Valmiki Eco School and Eco Folks.
The school also involves parents in campaigns.
Teaching aids are made of recycled material. Every class has an eco-monitor to keep an eye on water and electricity conservation and a garden monitor to take care of plants. The school that operates on the premises of a BMC school where four classrooms have been allotted,has planned several new measures.
Several bright students dropped out as their families could not afford the fee. We are aiming at helping such students. We have more activities lined up and are looking for funding, said Nikita Pimpale.
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