Wednesday, 10th August 2016. On the run up to Independence Day, teachers from nine government schools participated in a one-day orientation and exposure to the benefits and bounty of Mother Earth at a special BDVS training programme organised in collaboration with Taru Mitra bio-reserve in Digha, Patna.

The initiative is a part of the BDVS Quality Education Campaign, currently under way in selected districts of Bihar.

The teachers represented nine government schools from Barh, Belchi and Samastipur blocks. An inspiring and innovative one-day orientation was delivered by the efficient Taru Mitra team, who are the acknowledged experts inn introducing environmental programmes for schoolchildren. Ms Margaret and Mr Prasad of Taru Mitra guided the teachers.

In the words of BDVS director Fr Anto Joseph SJ, quality education becomesa reality when we enable the village school teachers with the required knowledge and skills, and give them an exposure. The teachers discussed the most locally relevant environmental problems, noted the impact of global warming as it affects the everyday rural life in Bihar and discussed simple and cost effective ways to introduce their students to environmental protection. For the government teachers, this was a first time exposure to the bio-reserve, and they greatly appreciated the experience.

The nine schools agreed upon a plan of action, to introduce ecology and environment protection activities within their campus. They decided on:

Conducting a session on environment in the schools, according to convenience.

Sharing their experience and knowledge with their colleagues and school children.

To promote tree plantation in and around the campus by motivating the schoolchildren to get saplings and plant them.

To develop a system that ensures that the saplings are looked after and flourish.

Sister Ambika of BDVS reported that the teachers were impressed and enthusiastic. A teacher from Barh block said that they accepted the responsibility of ensuring that the students planted and protected trees. Another teacher from Samastipur said that the training brought home the fact that environmental protection cannot be ignored by anyone and that teachers as well as students should think about practical ways to protect the environment.

Participating Teachers:

1. Karuna Kumari -Belchi
2. Vijay Laxmi -Belchi
3. Avinash Kumar Singh- Barh
4. Ashish Kumar - Samastipur
5. Md Attul Ausoni - Samastipur
6. Kundan Ki Pandey - Samastipur
7. Vikas Kumar - Samastipur
8. Rudal Paswan - Samastipur
9. Minta Kumari - Samastipur