TERI and Tata Steel Foundation launches sixth phase of Green School Initiative

Jamshedpur, July 17: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Tata Steel Foundation (TSF) launched phase VI of the Green School initiative on Monday, July 17, across the operational locations of Jharkhand and Odisha. The launch was announced to celebrate the achievements of the initiative over the years and pave a sustainable path for the future. 869 students from 45 schools joined the launch event along with 95 teachers. To commemorate the launch of the sixth phase, the students, teachers, TERI and TSF staff came together to plant 350 trees today and another 475 plants will be planted over this week across locations.

Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI, stressed on the significance of initiatives such as the Green School Project in creating awareness of sustainability at the grassroots for children who are also the citizens of tomorrow. Dr Dhawan added, “Combining Tata group ethos along with our vision of a sustainable future, we can raise awareness among the children to create awareness on the adequate use of resources because we only have one planet. Once we educate the children on the adverse effects of the overuse of resources, many of our problems would be addressed at many levels”. 

Speaking at the event, Chanakya Chaudhary, Director, Tata Steel Foundation, said, “I am glad that we are stepping up and reaching a stage for which we have been working hard over the past 6-7 years. Now, we need to focus on the outcomes of the programme and ensure that more schools are adopting this replicable model to walk the road to sustainability together”.

Collaborating on phase VI of the Green School Project, TERI and TSF will work towards educating and empowering young minds in the age group of 12-14 years on water, energy, forest, biodiversity, and waste management to undertake awareness and action projects at school and community levels to develop solutions enabling the creation of a sustainable environment.  

The Green School Project was launched in 2017 by TSF and TERI to work towards creating awareness about environmental conservation in schools through curriculum linkages, action projects, and capacity-building activities. Mr S Vijay Kumar, Distinguished Fellow, TERI, said, “Students of today are citizens of tomorrow and the Green School project works towards making children more aware and receptive towards their environment, especially now, when the planet is in a major crisis”.

Phase VI of the Green School Project will focus on creating modules for different categories of schools (Early, Experienced, and Evolved under the Green School Project) for knowledge enhancement and replication through project interventions. Early schools refer to new entrants to the world of understanding environmental sustainability. Experienced schools have been part of the ongoing Green School Project for at least three years in a row. In contrast, evolved schools comprise of schools that have created a sustainable environment by addressing their energy, waste, water, forests, and biodiversity issues through their learnings from precious project activities.