The Urja Chetana project bagged the Global CSR Excellence and Leadership Awards 2016  under the category of Developing Sustainable Strategies . Under the CSR initiatives of the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) Limited, the Urja Chetana was initiated in schools since 2012, in partnership with CEE Kolkata in West Bengal.

Urja Chetana is an action based education programme for students to build capacity in the area of energy conservation, sanitation, waste management, rainwater harvesting and nurturing local biodiversity. It was conceived with the objective of improving the schools' micro-environment by empowering teachers and students to implement sustainable action projects within the school premises. Each and every activity in the project is measured with impact mapping. It disseminates the learning to individual houses and communities.

The highlights of the impact of Urja Chetana project for the year 2014-15:

• 1000 students from 30 schools were mobilised as Eco Club members.

• The school level approach saw the participation of over 5000 students.
• Students from 20 schools recycled 250 kgs and 70 kgs of food and paper waste respectively.
• 1,785 kg/per month food waste continues to be sent to pig farms and 120 kg of paper waste has already been sent to a recycling unit.
• 12,646 litres of rainwater was harvested by four schools in 2015.
• Organic compost is being used for gardening in schools and recycled paper is developed into various products, such as paper bags, greeting cards, pen stands, masks, and others.

On the occasion of International Youth Day (August 12, 2016), the South Asia Environment Network (SAYEN) and CEE partnered with Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD) to organise simultaneous competitions and workshops in Ahmedabad, Bettiah and Jaipur.

A one-day workshop was hosted at M G Science Institute in Ahmedabad, MJK College in Bettiah, and Parishkar College and Neerja Modi School in Jaipur. Spot essay writing and photography competitions on the themes ‘Needs to Practice Sustainable Lifestyle' and ‘Swachha Bharat Mission' (A national cleanliness movement) respectively, were conducted. The youth pledged to lead a sustainable lifestyle and consume with care. About 300 youth participated in the event.

CEE Chhattisgarh organised one-day teacher training workshops in three blocks of Raipur and Durg districts under Wipro’s Earthian Programme (a sustainability education programme) and Paryavaran Mitra Puruskar 2016. The workshops commenced with a brief introduction to CEE and its work. The teachers were provided with a background to the programmes and their objectives. A brochure and booklet for Wipro’s Earthian Programme and poster for Paryavaran Mitra Puruskar 2016 were inaugurated at the workshop. Plantation and activities to save trees took place. The concept of sustainable development, as related to water, biodiversity, energy and waste management, was discussed with the participants. Mr N. P. Verma, Eco Club District Coordinator, Raipur and Mr R. N. Sinha, Eco Club District Coordinator, Durg, and Mr Sandeep Tamboli, Project Officer facilitated the workshop. The objective of the teacher training workshops was to develop an understanding among teachers about environmental education and its curriculum linkages; components of 'Earthian' and Paryavaran Mitra Programme; and the role of schools in participating and implementing these programmes in their respective schools and communities. About 114 teachers participated in the workshops which took place at three different blocks of Raipur and Durg in Chattisgarh.

CEE Northern Regional Cell conducted a one-day workshop at Rajkiya Kanya Madhya Vidyalaya , Sasaram, Rohtas on August 24, 2016. The objective of the workshop was to introduce the CEP Module II, which builds a student's understanding of Earth and its evolution. The students and teachers discussed and shared their learning from the CEP Module I which had been introduced in 2015 by CEE team. The CEP package effectively engages children in understanding difficult concepts like time and evolution. Twenty five students between classes 6-8 and five teachers attended the workshop.

The workshop was organised under the Continous Engagement Programme (CEP), which is being implemented by CEE in partnership with WIPRO in schools across India. It is a part of the Paryavaran Mitra initiative. In UP and Bihar, CEE is implementing the programme in eight schools for a period of three years to enhance social and environmental sensitivity among children.

Under the Paryavaran Mitra initiative, an ‘eco- Raksha Bandhan ' campaign was launched for schools in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar by CEE Northern Regional Cell, on August 18, 2016. The objective was to celebrate the festival of Rakshabandhan with the trees in their surroundings. As a part of the Children's Forest Programme (CFP) and Dolphin schools network, 6500 students took part in this campaign.

Students collected waste material to prepare ‘ rakhis ' or ‘ raksha sutra ' and tied them to the trees in their schools as a symbol of acknowledging the importance of trees and other natural resources, and benefits provided by them. The students performed skits and gave presentations on the occasion. They pledged to plant more trees and protect them.

A two-month certificate course in Climate Change, conducted by CEE at Ahmedabad, concluded on August 12, 2016. It was taken by 22 science communicators from Science Express Climate Action Special (SECAS). It blended various educational approaches to delivering knowledge on climate change, its science, causes, impacts and solutions, as well as enhancing their communication, writing and research skills. As part of the course, the communicators participated in an activity ‘Village Connect', in which they spent two days with a rural community and understood how climate change has had an impact on them and how various actions at the community level were taken.

Under the Ganges River Dolphin Conservation Education Programme, with support from the other partner organisations, a refresher meet was organised by CEE in seven school clusters of Jarwal and Katerniaghat in Bahraich; Meerut; Bettiah and Bagaha in West Champaran; Supaul; and Muzaffarpur, in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The people who were in-charge of the Dolphin Clubs in schools were re-oriented. Discussions on scaling up of the Dolphin action plan in schools for the year 2016-17 were carried out.

CEE is implementing the Ganges River Dolphin Conservation Education Programme with support from the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), in more than 750 schools and 10 riverside villages at 20 dolphin habitat locations of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Disaster Risk Reduction Training and Mock Drill in Bihar

CEE North, in association with the Red Cross Society, Bettiah, and other partner NGOs, conducted a Disaster Risk Reduction training and mock drill on August 2, 2016, in the intervention area of the Dolphin programme of Bettiah cluster in Bihar. Mr Jagmohan Kumar, Secretary, District Red Cross Society, West Champaran , facilitated the training on community led relief operation and rehabilitation process. The training was conducted to build capacities and resilience of river-dependent communities to cope with the floods and minimise the risk, the impact and loss of riverside communities.

Youth were trained on flood preparedness and response through Community led Disaster Management Plan (CDMP) by the CEE team. About 90 youth from the task forces, along with members of Souns Sanrakshan Samiiti (Dolphin Conservation Committee) from five Panchayats, participated in the training.

Capacity Building Training on Pisciculture

CEE North, in collaboration with Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, organised a two day capacity building training on Pisciculture on August 11-12, 2016 at the Fisheries Entrepreneurial Training Institute (FETI), Colonelganj, Gonda UP. Fishermen were trained on fishing techniques in flood plains; low cost ‘Pisciculture'; integrating fisheries with agroforestry; and sustainable fishing.

The objective of the training was to spread awareness among the fishermen community about the low-cost methods of pond fishing in comparison to the year-long fishing in the river and conservation of the habitat of Ganges River Dolphin, and provide the fishermen with an alternate livelihood option.

Consultations for Promoting Eco-tourism Under the Ganges River Dolphin Conservation Education Programme supported by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), CEE held 15 consultation meetings in West Champaran District, Bihar . The objective of the consultations was to promote Dolphin specific eco-tourism with local youth, the fishermen and boatmen communities residing along River Gandak and Valmiki National Park /Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR). These consultation meetings identified 200 youth who were trained on the techniques used by eco-tour guides and methods to generate alternate sources of livelihood through eco-tourism.

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]

Workshop on CEE's Experience on WASH Programmes

As part of the ‘ Adarsh and Utkrist School' scheme, UNICEF and Education Department, Government of Rajasthan, organised a state level workshop on integrating Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in these schools. The objective of the workshop was to orient participants about WASH in school programmes in other states of India and to draw key recommendations for strengthening WASH initiatives in model schools of Rajasthan. CEE was invited to share its experience on WASH programmes and the whole school approach. Mr. Simanta Kalita, Programme Coordinator, CEE North East, shared his experience of Daily Handwashing for an Ailment-free Life (DHaAL) project as a saturation and scale-group hand washing project. Mr. Parthesh Pandya, Programme Coordinator, CEE West, shared his learning on child and community participation under the Anandshala model. Mr Salathiel Nalli, WASH Specialist, UNICEF, Hyderabad, presented on the ‘ Swachh Shale ' project, where he shared CEE's efforts for WASH is schools of Karnataka. The workshop was attended by the State and District level officers of the Education Department, Government of Rajasthan.

The government of Rajasthan has initiated ‘ Adarsh and Utkrist School' scheme for enhancing the quality of education at the elementary and secondary level, respectively. The scheme aims at making one school as a model for quality education in each Gram Panchayats across the state, by improving its facilities and practices.

Orientation Sessions and Demonstrations to Promote WASH

CEE team conducted orientation sessions and demonstration of the portable mobile unit of hand washing and personal hygiene kits for the students, under the partnership between Akshay Patra Foundation and CEE, to promote handwashing in schools. CEE team laid emphasis on the role of personal hygiene and cleanliness, specifically, hand washing, through action songs and educational activities. CEE aided in the formation of the WASH ( Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Council in schools for monitoring the overall cleanliness of the campus, hand washing and personal hygiene. Over 3114 students, 166 teachers and 93 cooks were addressed during the visits to the schools in Jaipur, Bhubaneshwar, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.