World Environment Day - 2015

Nature-a serene beauty, a forgiving entity and a loving mother-is much celebrated for her generosity in bestowing bountiful gifts to each and every dweller of our mystic world. She proudly hosts the epicenter of life in this seemingly non-biological cosmos. With her own hardships to battle against, she has nested and nurtured the pearl of life for millions of years.

St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School paid gratitude to this unsung “Mother Earth” by reiterating the need to conserve, care and nurture for the future. The school has faith in its lofty dreams and has always toiled hard to fulfill them. With about 2500 young hearts pumping eagerly to save the blue planet from the clutches of the modern day evil – pollution, a new beginning was born when saplings of hope were planted by the chief guests for the day Mrs. Preethi Kadam and Dr. Meenakshi Bharath, along with the Principal of SJBHS Rev. Fr. Clifford Sequeira, SJ and the Vice Principals- Mrs. Miriam Angelo and Rev. Fr. Sunil Fernandes, SJ.

The ‘Earth song’ was rendered by the students of grade 12 ’B’, with an attempt to resonate the voice of ‘The crying Earth, the weeping shores’, by questioning ‘What have we done to this World???’

The programme was aimed at raising awareness against the harmful effects of human greed on nature. Mrs. Preethi Kadam, an environmentalist and an active member of the PTA for 4 years, addressed the gathering with a few key points to inscribe in every mind that heard her speak. According to her, while we have the right to consume, it is also our duty to care. She is also a member of the ‘Go Green Committee’, which was instrumental in installing the school’s waste management unit. She believes that the bond between humans and nature should be a sign of green, but not a sign of greed.

Dr. Meenakshi Bharath, yet another dedicated environmentalist, spoke about the ways which we could employ to save our unique planet from the brink of destruction. As she considers our earth to be a gem, not inherited from our ancestors but borrowed from our children, she conducted a small activity to conserve the earth and its resources for the many generations to come. She insisted on the use of the principles of reuse and recycle to reduce and manage enormous amounts of waste produced each day. Her suggestion of using steel tumblers and old plastic bottles was appealing to her audience. A display of cloth bags and an explanation of the ‘2 bin, 1 bag theory’ was truly impressive and thought provoking. The programme ended in a befitting way when she rightly said, “the nature of the future is dependent on the future of nature.”