Green conviction

The future flag bearers of the society have, it seems, taken their responsibility a bit too seriously and have set to work even before they come in the category of teens.

Kids of APRA not only sacrifice their holidays to make the environment green and clean, but also set example for elders to follow

The future flag bearers of the society have, it seems, taken their responsibility a bit too seriously and have set to work even before they come in the category of teens. The kids of APRA Anand Park active kids group have taken up the task to bring back greenery to the city that has almost lost its natural charm given the unplanned concrete development.

The small wonders are between the age group of 10-13 years. And the Club has a mission to complete during the holidays. To begin with, they have started taking signatures of the residents of Anand Park to ensure their participation in the task. Among a long list of many different tasks that they plan, planting saplings and stopping the use of plastic bags are of prime importance.

Girish Deshpande, the man behind this idea says, 8220;They are sacrificing their playtime to work for a noble cause. Our plan is to create a healthy environment in Pune so that everyone can breathe in fresh air. I believe that kids can do what we elders often fail to do.8221;

Neel Deshpande, a 12-year-old member of the club, says, 8220;We have taken about 100 signatures till now and we target 500, which needs to be achieved in three weeks time.8221; He comes back from school at 4:30 in the evening and starts his game of collecting signatures. Most of the times he gets a positive response but there are times people don8217;t care. Neel, however doesn8217;t loses hope. Another soldier for green, Rucha Gahanlalde, a student of VIII standard, says, 8220;Whenever we find a plastic lying anywhere, we pick them up and tell people not to use them.8221; On being asked how long they will carry their mission, a strong determined Rucha gave answered, 8220;We are working for ourselves and shall continue till we get satisfaction.8221; An 11-year-old Aarti Abhiyankar is much enthusiastic over the whole thing. Expressing her happiness she says, 8220;I have learnt a lot of new things related to environment protection. I love my work of saving the mother nature.8221;

With a dream of green, clean and beautiful city the kids are planting saplings. They are spreading a message among the common public that the way they use polythene bags can really bring an imbalance in the environment. The future depends on the present and thus all the plastic in the garbage heap at the corner of your locality can be the reason of your sorrows in future. However, the effort might appear to be a drop in the ocean, but the zeal to make an effort to make environment cleaner and greener is worth appreciating and also worth supporting.