To set up a model and support the school management in designing and implementing the Right to Free and Compulsory Education facility, a Special Training Programme (STP) was implemented at the Government Upper Primary School (GUPS) in Ghatal, Rajasthan, as part of Project Swapnilshala.

The STP was organised for 3rd to 6th standard students, who were graded below the age appropriate attainment level, and were facing difficulties in learning language as well as mathematics.

The STP, which incorporated the approaches of inclusive and joyful learning, supported the teachers in dealing with multi-grade and multi–level classroom situations, leading towards enhancement of quality of education via child-specific intervention. A variety of teaching-learning approaches were utilised, like games, performing arts, art and crafts, and peer group learning. Members of the community also got involved in the activities, which helped in tackling the concern of enrolment of non-school going children.

On the occasion of the World Heritage Day, Centre for Heritage Management and Venture Studio of Ahmedabad University jointly organized an exhibition of Ahmedabad Heritage Ventures , as part of Ahmedabad Heritage Venture Lab (AHVL), on 16th & 17th April 2016.

As one of the founding members of the Ahmedabad Cultural Heritage Cluster (ACHC), CEE was invited to showcase its programmes and activities, on heritage and culture. The team exhibited a map depicting the heritage and culture of the city. Titled ‘Discover Ahmedabad’, the map garnered the interest of many, with visitors taking turns to spot the heritage sites, and sharing their experiences. A poster on the magazine ‘AmdaVadma’, which was launched in December 1979 with an aim to create a network to address local and global development priorities, was also put on display.

The ‘Cultural Trail - Ahmadshahi Ahmedabad’ - a small book depicting the city of Ahmedabad, its history, and the rich heritage of monuments – was made available for sale, while the Parampara catalogue, which documents India’s culture of climate friendly sustainable practices in textiles, clothing and lifestyle products, was displayed.

Nearly 13 exhibitors displayed their heritage-related products and services in diverse areas such as artworks, cultural tourism, film, food & lifestyle, handicrafts, heritage home stay, performing arts, photography, radio broadcasting, town planning, and web portal for arts and culture. One of the main attractions of the event was the display of 1000 traditional rice varieties.

Considering the possibility of correlating environmental issues with heritage conservation, CEE North observed the World Heritage Day on 18th April 2016. The theme for the event was taken as 'Environment as Legacy: Protecting our Green Heritage'.

As part of school programmes, the CEE North team organised a state level ‘Paryavaran Mitra Schools Event and Meet' at the Regional Science City (RSC), Lucknow. Over 200 students and teachers from 28 schools participated in the event. Inter-school competitions like the 'Paryavaran Mitra Reporter' (Feel it, Click it, Report it), and a teachers’ workshop, along with an interactive theatre workshop for the students and teachers, was facilitated and conducted by the CEE team.

The chief guest; Shri Pawan Kumar, Secretary, UP State Biodiversity Board, Government of India; shared that there were 32 heritage sites in India, which included both, cultural and nature-related sites. At the event, the overall theme for the World Heritage Day 'Sports as a Heritage’ was also acknowledged. Dr. A. K. Sharma, Professor, University of Lucknow, encouraged the children to continue with environment-friendly work in their schools.

A felicitation ceremony for the 17 shortlisted Paryavaran Mitra-Earthian schools at the state level, also took place. The event focused at encouraging the schools to become a Paryavaran Mitra citizen.

The first incident of forest fire in Uttarakhand was reported in early February. Since then, it spread to 13 districts of the state, destroying nearly 3,000 acres of forest land. Forest stretches, agricultural fields, as well as human habitations in districts of Rudraprayag, Pauri, Chamoli, Almora, Nainital and Dehradun, were the worst affected.

Working on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Climate Change (CC) and Sustainable Mountain Development (SMD), CEE Himalaya, alerted the villagers and joined the local forest department in organising collective effort to douse the spreading fire flames, and make 'fire lines'. A door-to-door awareness programme to raise awareness on the causes of forest fires, fire safety, and demonstration of ‘fire-line’ construction methods to prevent wildfires in the region, were also conducted.

Traditional trees like Burans (Rhododendron arboreum Sm.), Banj,or White Oak tree, that are native to the mountain ecosystem, were promoted by the team. The locals were motivated to regenerate forest with the trees native to the mountains.

As part of the arrival of the Prakriti Bus in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, the CEE North team organised a biodiversity awareness programme, with support from the district’s forest department and the education department.

The bus visited 17 schools in the district, and over 12,300 students and teachers were benefited. The participants showed keenness in knowing about the rich biodiversity, and the conservation actions they could take.

As part of Earth Day celebrations on 22nd April 2016, the Prakriti bus was taken to the BSS Public School, wherein the CEE team explained to the students the linkage between the rich biological diversity and the natural balance on planet Earth. Students were encouraged to protect the Nature and Earth by preserving the biodiversity, and acting locally for conservation.

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]

The International Conference will take forward the discussion of Goal 4 from the ESDG Conference held in January 2016, at CEE Ahmedabad. It will focus on good practice, highlighting innovative strategies and methodologies in pedagogy and curriculum, in both formal and non-formal settings. It aims to engage children and youth. The deliberations from this conference will further enhance cooperation and action around the Sustainable Development Goal 4.7.

For more details, please visit: http://ceeindia.org/esdconf/index.html

CEE North, in collaboration with Katerniaghat Wildlife Division, Bahraich, organized a two-day national level Dolphin Camp-cum-Mela on 12-13th April, 2016, at the Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh.

Organized with support from the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India, the Camp-cum-Mela focused at raising awareness about the national symbol, and disseminating the message of river conservation. The unique Camp-cum-Mela was attended by more than 300 participants, from the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This included students, teachers, NGOs, members of the Tharu community, Government officials and other key stakeholders.

It was inaugurated by Mr. Vansidhar Baudhh, State Minister, Samaj Kalyan; who was the Chief Guest for the occasion. Mr. Ashish Tiwari, Conservator Forest/DFO, Katerniaghat Wildlife Division, Bahraich, was the special guest, who extended a warm welcome to everyone. Mr. Tiwari and the State Minister visited the stalls and interacted with the students who hailed from different clusters. The handicraft products displayed at the stalls put up by the tribal and the Tharu communities, received appreciation.

Selected schools from the dolphin cluster of Begusarai, Gopalganj, Bettiah, Bagaha and Muzaffarpur in Bihar, and Gonda, Jarwal, Baundi, Varanasi, Allahabad, Meerut, and Katerniaghat in UP, took part in this. 

CEE, along with the Akshayapatra Foundation, implemented a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) education programme in various schools of Jaipur.

Focused at internalizing WASH practices among students, the programme witnessed personal hygiene kits being distributed, and their use demonstrated, at various schools. The students were explained about the importance of sanitation and personal hygiene through games and lectures, and a WASH council, to keep a watch on day-to-day hygiene and water related issues in schools, was established.

Members of the students’ council were oriented and explained of their roles, as well as the functions of the council, along with being given instructions on the maintenance of daily records related to personal hygiene and water-related issues in schools. To strengthen the effort and for effective delivery of the message, a poster focusing on personal hygiene was developed and distributed to the schools.

Dr. Abdhesh Kumar Gangwar, Programme Director, CEE, was invited as a resource person at the two-day regional workshop on Climate Adaptation Programme and Sustainable Ecosystems, organised for the North Eastern Region (NER) of India, on 25-26 April 2016 at Imphal.

Organised by the State Climate Change Cell of Manipur, Directorate of Environment, Government of Manipur, and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MST), Government of India, the workshop focused on highlighting the challenges faced by the NER, and attempted at putting forth a road map for participation in policy action programmes on climate adaptation. It aligned with the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) and the National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC). Dr. Gangwar made a presentation on ‘Community participation in Climate Change Adaptation- Role of Local institutions, NGOs, Media, etc. and sharing experience’.

The dignitaries to grace the occasion included Mr. Shambhoo Singh, Additional Chief Secretary; Mr. I. Hemochandra Singh, Minister, Forest & Environment, Government of Manipur; Dr. M. Homeshawar Singh, Director and State Nodal Officer (Climate Change), Directorate of Environment, Manipur; Dr. Shirish Sinha, Deputy Director of Cooperation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Embassy of Switzerland; and Dr. Nisha Mendiratta, Director, Climate Change Programme, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.

The inputs and conclusions drawn from the workshop will aid in designing the implementation of State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCC), and enhance the climate change knowledge networking at the state level. Taking this further, the Government of Manipur will assign CEE the responsibility of organising state-wide teachers training.

On the occasion of World Earth Day on 22nd April 2016, CEE Himalaya, with support from JSW Foundation, conducted an awareness programme on ‘Trees for the Earth’ at the Junior High School in Barsu, Uttarkashi.

25 participants, including students and teachers, were present for the programme, which aimed at informing, spreading awareness and motivating the participants towards conservation of forests at an individual and community level, with a special heed to mountain forests and increased plantation.

Activities such as interaction on the importance of trees in mountainous regions, a quiz on the local medicinal plants and their usefulness, and a discussion on the major problems arising due to proliferating deforestation, such as climate change, environmental degradation, loss of ecosystem and biodiversity, and frequent catastrophic events, took place.

With help from the CEE team, the participants planted five local trees, namely, Buransh (Rhododendron arboretum), Oak (Quercus), Walnut (Juglans), Devdar (Cedrus deaodara) and Chullu. Following this, a pledge was taken towards maintaining the green, beautiful and healthy environment.