St Markians Show Their Eco Vision

Some one has rightly said: “A journey of thousand miles begins with a single step.”

It all began in 2009 when our school gave us an opportunity to participate in a competition on innovative ideas to save planet earth. This was organized by BRIGHT GREEN YOUTH, Denmark. Our ideas were highly appreciated. In fact, Sanchit Goyal’s ideas was top rated for weeks together.

In August 2009, a group of 15 students was invited to attend a conference (a prelude to COP 15) on climate change in Denmark. From then on, we embarked on our journey to change things around us and create a better Earth as Bright Green St. Markians.

Last year, eight Bright Green St.Markians came together to organize Earth Week, which was a great success. Inspired by them, we, along with our Principal, conceptualised ECO VISION. But this year we took a step further and made the competition open for all three branches of St. Mark’s School. Again this event was for the students and by the students.

Around 1,000 students participated in wide-ranging activities related to the theme of environment. The event officially began on April 18, 2011 and culminated on April 21.

The week-long event saw several activities being held in our school premises. Students of classes I and II participated in a fancy dress competition where they showcased endangered/extinct/rare animals. For class III students we had on-the-spot drawing and painting competition. A unique competition was held for class IV students. The competition was to share their knowledge on any tree found anywhere on the planet. Students of class V participated in a quiz competition.

It was wonderful to see students of class VI use their creative minds and create a collage out of waste while students of class VII participated in a poster-making competition. For class VIII we had a declamation contest where the students had to speak on ways to reduce carbon footprints. Class IX and X students designed a stamp and also participated in a quiz competition. The senior-most students of classes XI and XII participated in poetry, illustration and essay-writing competitions.

All in all, it was a wonderful attempt from the students of St. Mark’s School to sensitise youmg minds towards the issues that plague the planet and the ways we can combat all the issues. The week also saw some distinguished people visiting the school premises: Saurav Bardhaan, co-founder of Green Eco Solutions; S.K.Saxena, director of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Climate Change and Gaurav Shorey, area convenor of TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute).