We Welcome 95 Children From India

95 students from 10 schools attended the recent Academy in Government Inter College in Sitarganj, Uttarakhand, India.

This Academy was made possible with the dedicative commitment of the Plant-for-the-Planet Foundation, the Government Inter College Sitarganj, the TGIC Eco Club and YCSG members. The event was free of charge for all the attending children, who were aged 10-14. Special thanks goes to Plant-for-the-Planet Academy staff Adelya for helping us throughout the Academy preparation. I would also like to thank Mr. Anand Mishra, Mr. Raghv Bhatt and Mr. Narendra Rautela for helping us contact all schools and a very special thanks goes to Mr. Anand Mishra (Head of GIC Sitarganj) for providing us venue and all other basic facilities for this day. Not to be forgotten are the many helpers and supporters, without whom the implementation of the Academy, venue, technology. Tree-planting event and much more would not have been possible.

After a brief welcome and registration process the full attention of the children turned to the presentation "Now we children save the world!" which was held by Plant-for-the-Planet Coordinator Dharmendra Kapri.  The presentation covered: Introduction of Plant-for-the-Planet, sources of CO2, greenhouse effect, global warming, photosynthesis, climate change, climate crisis and global justice. These topics were explained in a very simple language and easy way. After the presentation, the kids had the opportunity to clear their doubts through a question and answer session.

After a short break, the children were divided into six groups to learn about global distribution and justice in the World Game. The children distributed playing figures, candy and balloons as symbols of the world’s population, wealth and CO2 emissions on the world. Each group had one Moderator from our Academy team to help them understand the rules and the process. First they were asked to distribute the balloons, candy and tokens as per as their knowledge. Later they were corrected by the moderator wherever needed. Eventually, the CO2 emissions and wealth were distributed fairly – everyone has equal rights

Then the children formed six public speaking groups and prepared and presented short passages from the presentation that they had seen at the start of the day. They gave each other tips on how to improve their presentations in the future and a short session on how to give a good presentation was conducted by Harshdev Punera and Priyanka Chand.

The children then broke for lunch and were able to relax a little and to discuss the topics covered so far with each other. 

After lunch was over, the afternoon kicked off with the Short Introductive videos on Plant-for-the-Planet and on how Plant-for-the-Planet plants trees in Mexico as children during the presentation session were very curious to know more about this.

Rested, and feeling energized, the children relocated to the schoolyard to plant their own trees! Before the planting commenced, the children listened intently to the advice of the Eco club member Mr. Prashant Kumar. He explained how and when to plant trees, and also showed the children how to care for them to make sure they survive. In total they planted 10 trees in just 40 minutes.

After a short break it was back to the program. The kids started the "World Café" module in which they worked on the following questions: "How do we ensure that the media reports about us?", "How do we motivate the adults?", "How do we motivate friends and classmates?" and "How do we organize a planting party?"

After everyone had the opportunity to write down their thoughts to each question, the children were asked to present their thoughts and future plans in front of other students and teachers.

After the World Café children were asked to give shortened version of morning presentations, their future plans and outcomes of the school groups and group discussions.

After a long, fruitful, and enjoyable day, all 95 participants received their certificates from Miss Priyanka Chand and Mrs. Geeta, which recognized them as a Climate Justice Ambassadors.  An interesting day had come to an end. Apart from the experience and newly found knowledge, all new Ambassadors took with them a copy of Tree-by-Tree, and of course the Plant-for-the-Planet T-shirt they collected at the start of the day.

The organizing team of Plant-for-the-Planet academy Sitarganj, India would like to thank all those involved for their help and support to make this academy possible.

All photos taken can be downloaded here

Do you want to become a Climate Justice Ambassador yourself? Register for an upcoming Academy here.