Eco-clubs to train students to become 'Environment warriors'

A NGO foundation named 'Parisara' has come forward to educate students about the need to converse forest lands and protect wild life by setting up eco-clubs in education institutions, involving students and the faculty.

The foundation has plans to open around 22,000 eco-clubs in a phased manner and rejuvenating the existing Eco-Clubs in colleges, schools.

In the first phase, around 4000 eco-clubs will be set up in colleges, affiliated to Mysore and Mangalore Universities and government libraries. This process is expected to be completed by the end of September.

Correspondence is already underway about the formalities of setting up eco-clubs in colleges. Suitable study materials will be provided by the foundation and a eco-journal will be published every month detailing the activities of the eco-clubs.

Foundation member SK Ananthanarayana said that in two years of the college studies, students will become true environmentalists, acting as 'warriors of environment', by taking initiative to raise voice for the cause of protection of environment.

“In all, 2000 teachers and 80,000 students will be trained across state by the end of 2014. 22,000 lecturers and teachers as resource persons will be developed through club, who indeed can facilitate environment education and train students,” he added.

Eco-Clubs of the college consists of One President (Principal) One Vice President (Lecturer) One General Secretary (Student) and 2 Joint Secretaries (Student), 12 Executive Committee Members and 24 Student Members as an organisation.

Club activities

Key activities of club include tree planting, conducting seminars, debate, discussions, writing articles, creating awareness, providing knowledge on biodiversity. It also covers vast range of topics such as prevention of environmental pollution involving water and air, global warming, land degradation, noise pollution, waste management, rainwater harvesting, prevention of epidemic diseases, nature camps and much more.

The State government had initiated steps to open eco-clubs in 3845 Pre-University colleges in Karnataka under National Green Corpos Programme and Rs 5000 was sanction for each club. According to sources its learnt that due to lack of proper initiative and support the project never took off.