On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), in cooperation with Engagement Global, implemented a capacity development programme aimed at improving the implementation of ESD in Germany, India, Mexico, and South Africa.

CEE, which is a partner organisation of the network since its inception, participated in the meeting which was held in Mexico, in November 2015. Ms. Rajeswari Gorana and Mr. Satish Awate, Programme Coordinators, attended the meeting, which focused on sharing updates on ESD practices by members, country situations and the formation of working groups on Mentorship programme, Training of Trainers (ToTs), material development and Go Global Garden activities.

The meeting developed a two-year plan of activities for the network members in all the above working groups. CEE team committed to take active part in material development, mentorship programme and Go Global Garden activities of the network.

CEE ESD Expert-net members Mr. Satish Awate and Ms. Rajeswari Gorana attended the international conference - World Encounter on Sustainable Actions, which took place in Saltillo, Mexico, on November 24, 2015. Aimed at exchanging views and sharing ideas on the meaning of resilience in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), the conference pondered upon various questions on the idea of resilience being suitable for enriching ESD. Mr. Awate spoke on the topic of biodiversity for resilience, where he shared learnings from climate change in the past and how Indian communities coped with them, along with the significance of biological resources to cope with the recent challenges of climate change. He cited case studies from India and highlighted the role of education in understanding and developing resilience.

As part of their visit, Mr. Awate and Ms. Gorana also participated in a one day international conference - International perspectives on Interculturality and Sustainability in Education, held on November 27, in Veracruz, Mexico. Organised by the Institute for Educational Research of Intercultural University of Veracruz, University Of Veracruz, the conference held discussions on Global Challenges for Sustainability and Interculturality, Sustainability in Non-formal education, ESD within Schools and biocultural heritage, sustainability and education.

The Wetskills India 2015 programme was held for the first time in India at the CEE campus in Ahmedabad, from November 28, 2015 to December 11, 2015. A collaboration of the Wetskills Foundation (Netherlands), the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and CEE, the programme was organised with support from Green Environment Services Cooperative Society Limited (GESCSL) and Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB). 25 students and young professionals from Netherlands and India participated.

During the two week programme, prominent names in the water sector including
Mr. Mahesh Singh, IFS, CEO, Water Sanitation and Management Organization (WASMO),
Mr. V.R. Ghadge from the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), Ms. Darshana Patel from the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) Ahmedabad and Mr. Deepak Davda from the Common Affluent Treatment Plant (CETP), addressed the students.

The students were divided into five groups wherein each group focused on one case study and visited the respective field offices which included visits to CETP Ahmedabad, STP Surat, STP Ahmedabad, CEE Halvad Campus and the water harvesting structures in the old city of Ahmedabad.

At the end of the programme, the teams put forth feasible solutions, in the form of posters and presentations.

CEE Himalaya organised an event with Valmiki Basti in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand to mark International Mountain Day (IMD)on December 11, 2015. Promoting mountain products for better livelihoods was the theme for the event which focused at inviting the Valmiki community to take part in the celebration of IMD and discuss the local environmental issues.

The livelihood of the majority population in Basti is dependent on swine and poultry farming, which consists of 10% households with toilets of their own. There is no proper drainage system in Basti, and all the sewage is drained into the river. The involvement of the community in the celebration aimed at encouraging the local communities to preserve the environment by sensitising them to mountain issues. On the occasion of IMD, the community was informed about basic hygiene and sanitation measures.

The ‘Nirmal Ganga- Clean Ganga’ idea was also introduced to the community and actions to support this initiative were outlined with the help of the community. The community was also briefed about disaster risk reduction and the importance of community participation in it.

CEE Bhiwadi team organised a pre Science Express Climate Action Special (SECAS) ‘Climate Change Education Workshop’ in the nearby schools. The purpose of the workshop was to make children aware about climate change and to develop curiosity around it.

Activities conducted linked the theme of climate change to their curriculum. They were made to understand concepts like the difference between climate and weather, the effect of ocean acidification on marine habitat, how tides occur, about globe and terrarium, etc. At the end of the session a video titled “Concierto Evolucion” which was about mankind, nature and technology was shown.

The schools wherein it was organised included Sarvoday Kanya School No 1, Delhi; Delhi Public School, Rewari and Government Upper Primary School, Ghatal, Bhiwadi. Around 280 students participated in this workshop followed by a visit to SECAS train.

As part of the Children’s Forest Programme (CFP), CEE Bareily conducted day long nature tours for schools at the Forest Research Centre and Reserve, which is located on the outskirts on Bareily. The team conducted nature tours for 12 CFP schools, and witnessed participation from over 1600 children and teachers.

CEE North, UNICEF and the Bihar Education Project Council (BEPC) have partnered to promote Child Friendly Schools and Systems (CFSS) in 100 schools of Vaishali district, Bihar. As part of this initiative which focuses on promoting quality education and WASH in selected schools, the baseline format was designed to get the present status of WASH, the school's physical environment, the functioning of groups such as SMC and Child cabinet, and to assess the teaching learning methodologies used in schools.

CEE is the ENVIS centre on Environmental Education (EE). As an ENVIS centre, CEE caters to the information needs of environmental educators. Write to the CEE ENVIS Centre at [email protected]

150 students participated in the school workshop on ‘Waste to Wealth', organised by CEE Delhi and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). The workshop was part of the ‘Climate+Change’ exhibition that took place at the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, from December 11-14, 2015.

From the waste material provided to them, which included newspapers, cans, waste paper, tetra packs, straws, thrown away plates and cartons, CDs, thread and plastic bottles, the students made products like mats, baskets, bells, lamps, rotating bottle fan and flower pots. The products were then put up as exhibits at the CEE stall.

Shri Prakash Javadekar, Hon’ble Minister of State (I/C) for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Shri Ashok Lavasa, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, visited the stall and appreciated the efforts of the students. The students were guided by Ms. Prarthana Borah, Ms. Ritika Kapoor and Mr. Sanjeev Chauhan.

On December 9, CEE – Ahmedabad organised AEROSPECTRUM 2015, a capacity building programme on Air Pollution-status, aspects/impacts and mitigation measures. Distinguished speakers and air pollution control experts from renowned institutes like IITs, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) and CEE, spoke on strategic issues like air pollution control systems design and development, air quality monitoring and its management, effects of air pollutants on health, and issues related to vehicular pollution.

Dignitaries to grace the programme - organised in collaboration with NEERI - included Dr. S K Nanda, CMD, Gujarat State Fertiliser Corporation, Dr. B. Sengupta, ex-Member Secretary, CPCB - New Delhi, Dr. Anjali Srivastava, Head - Zonal lab, NEERI - New Delhi , Mr. V. R. Ghadge, Sr. Environmental Engineer, GPCB, Dr. Prashant Gargava, Additional Director, CPCB, Mr. M. A. Patil, Director - FICCI, New Delhi, Dr. P. S. Rao, Head - Air Pollution Control Division, NEERI Nagpur, Dr. J.R. Parikh, Ex-Joint Director, NIOH and Dr. S.A. Puranik, Director, AIT Rajkot.

Green audit of highways and other roads, development of green corridor in a scientific way across the highways and comprehensive continuous air quality monitoring and mapping were some of the key recommendations made.

CEE Odisha organised a workshop on “Sustainable CSR Practices – Shared Ideas” in Bhubaneswar, in November 2015. Organised with support from Adani Foundation, and in partnership with Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB), Chilika Development Authority (CDA), Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIFA), and Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Program (SGP), the workshop witnessed participation from Corporates, NGOs, Government offices as well as experts and academics.

The inaugural session set the tone for taking up CSR work in a focused way in the state of Odisha, while the sessions focused on different aspects including ‘Initiatives and Best Practices between Stakeholders in Coastal Areas’, ‘Opportunities and Best Practices for Sustainable CSR – Panel Discussion’, ‘Community Initiatives and Partnerships’, and ‘New Ideas for Sustainable CSR practices’.

At the end of the daylong workshop, it was proposed to have a network of all the stakeholders to create greater synergies between existing as well as need-based programmes. A small ‘Green Haat’ was also organised on this occasion with 9 stalls put up by NGO partners and SHGs to demonstrate the efforts put up by the communities and to establish linkages for newer markets.

CEE was invited by the State Ecotourism Agency - Uttar Pradesh Forest Corporation (UPFC) to organise bird awareness and education activities at the ‘UP Bird Festival’, initiated by the Government of Uttar Pradesh, at Jarar in Chambal, Agra.

The festival, which aimed at popularising bird sighting locations as well as creating awareness among people for the conservation of birds and their habitats, witnessed the presence of over 100 international and national level ornithologists, photographers, birding enthusiasts, and wildlife artists. Local schools, colleges, institutions and state level nature and wildlife conservation agencies also visited the festival.

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Akhilesh Yadav, inaugurated the event and addressed the participants. He also interacted with the CEE team at the stall wherein CEE exhibited their work and educational material.
Mr. Sanjeev Saran, Principal Secretary - Environment, Government of Uttar Pradesh, appreciated CEE’s work with the UP Government on several environment education related projects.

Over 350 school students from Agra, Chambal, Etawah and nearby areas attended the festival. CEE facilitated the orientation session on knowing birds, visit to the bird exhibition, lecture by experts, competitions and games. Winners were awarded by the senior forest officials. To raise awareness about the rich biodiversity of Uttar Pradesh, the Prakriti Bus was also stationed at the bird festival.

CEE team, with the help of partner NGOs, conducted five refresher meets of dolphin school teachers in Supaul, Bhagalpur, Bettiah, Begusarai and Varanasi district. Over 150 teachers attended these one-day review cum refresher meets and shared their experience of conducting activities in schools. The teachers were further encouraged to send reports of the activities done at the school level.

In Agra, the mobile exhibition ‘Prakriti Bus’ was put forth for viewing to national and international visitors during the UP Bird Festival. The bus, a joint initiative of RCE Lucknow (collaboration of UP State Biodiversity Board, University of Lucknow and CEE North), was also visited by over 25400 students and visitors during its journey to 20 schools in Agra.

During the visits to the National Green Corps (NGC) schools, the communicators’ team emphasized on the biodiversity conservation activities of the eco-clubs. Schools were also encouraged to visit the Science Express Climate Action Special train which halted at Agra around the same time.

Nature camps for the eco-club schools of Uttar Pradesh were organised by CEE North, under the National Nature Camping Programme (NNCP), supported by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

NGC schools from Shrawasti district took part in the camp conducted at the Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary. Activities included nature trails inside the forests, cultural pursuits, and knowing about agricultural biodiversity by staying at the working farm ‘Tapovan’. Over 92 students and their teachers attended the camp, which sensitized them towards nature appreciation and conservation.

Christmas celebrations at Sundarvan had kids getting themselves clicked with Santa Claus. This was followed by the movie screening of ‘Finding Nemo’ and a talk on ‘clown’ fishes and fun facts about their behaviour.