Dear Students,
After my last blog on bioremediation, this is my eighth blog during the Sustainability Leaders Program 2024. I hope you’ve been following up with me. Besides, I have over 25 blogs posted during the last year, some of which are very informative about the best practices and innovations happening across the country.
Today, I want to acknowledge your enthusiastic participation and the immense potential you possess. We have indeed come a long way.
In this advanced stage last week, you learned about the bioremediation processes and their struggles and inefficiencies in dealing with legacy waste mountains (https://youtu.be/s2HsXK5DWLA). Hence, we realize there is no better way to manage waste than to segregate it at its source. This week, our emphasis is on community outreach. The school nodal teachers and the students are free to design their outreach program, collectively and individually. A half-to-one-pager is expected from the SNOs, enlisting their activity this week, to be shared with the district nodal officers. Also, share pictures, 3-4 high-resolution ones, and a pdf.
Simultaneously, as you know, our next two weeks emphasize presentation and public speaking skills. Students must learn how to make digital presentations. I am informed that most schools have a computer lab and a teacher to guide them. Still, if there is a gap, may I request the DNOs to facilitate it? Online training sessions can also be organized for some schools if required. Students (in groups of 2 for peer learning) will make 5-7 slides of PPTs based on their assignments, narrate their stories, describe their posters, and speak about their community outreach. Students can choose any topic, their reflections, and learnings about it. Has this program helped them observe waste in their surroundings and a desire to do something about it and live in clean surroundings? How are you affecting source segregation, kitchen waste composting, or dry waste recycling at your individual and collective level?
Then, schools organize an online session on public speaking: https://youtu.be/whMPzQMncFM. Teachers can further guide the students at their level. Once our students are prepared to speak for 3-4 minutes before an audience. Then we’ll plan the valedictory session of the program between 5th Dec and 12th Dec.
Please remember that the Sustainability Leaders Program is competitive and collaborative. The best students in each school will receive prizes, and the best schools in each district will also be honored, wherein the school nodal teachers are rewarded for their overall school’s performance! You may also read my blogs from last year to get an idea. One such blog I’m sharing here.
Still, if DNOs require, I would request the Mohali DEO, Ms Ginni Duggal, and last year’s coordinator, Ms. Preeti Bansal, to conduct a short session with the DNOs and SNOs to help them with student and school assessments. The student activities will be assessed based on the posts on the websites. Therefore, each SNO must ensure that their school is well-represented. Then, the waste management practices followed by the school will be assessed, which primarily entails waste segregation- use of 3-color coded dustbins- green for wet waste, blue for dry waste, and red for hazardous (sanitary)waste and on-site composting of horticulture and wet waste and use of incinerators for sanitary waste, etc.
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