76 students from India are now official Climate Justice Ambassadors

The academy was made possible with the dedicative commitment of Plant-for-the-Planet Foundation, GHSC Charubeta and NSS 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 and Preeti yadav and Priyanka Chand for all their hard work and efforts to make this academy successful.  I would also like to thank Mr Divakar Pandey for helping us contact all schools and for providing us venue and other basic facilities for the academy. 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 given by Plant-for-the-Planet coordinators Dharmendra Kapri and Rohit Bisht.  The presentation covered: Introduction of Plant-for-the-Planet, sources of CO2, greenhouse effect, global warming, photosynthesis, climate crisis, climate change and global justice. These topics were explained in a very simple language and easy way. After the presentation, children had the opportunity to ask all their questions in an interactive Q&A session.

After a short break, the children were divided into 6 groups to learn about global distribution and justice in the “World Game”. The children distributed playing figures, candy and balloons on the world maps laying on the floor as symbols of the world’s population, wealth and CO2 emissions respectively.  Each group had one Moderator from our academy team to help them understand the rules and the process. The children were first asked to distribute the balloons, candy and tokens according to their knowledge. The moderators later on corrected the kids if necessary. Eventually, the CO2 emissions and wealth were distributed fairly – everyone has equal rights.

Then the children formed 6 public speaking groups and prepared and presented short passages from the opening 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 afterwards a short session on how to give a good presentation was conducted by Miss Priyanka Chand and Dharmendra Kapri.

The children then had 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 started off with the short introductive videos on Plant-for-the-Planet and how Plant-for-the-Planet plant trees in Mexico. The children were very curious about Plant-for-the-Planet and how the trees are planted.

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 in charge Mr. Ashok Mehta. 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 15 trees (Azadirachta indica, Cassia fistula, Magnifera Indica, Indian Gooseberry, Psidium guajava) in just 45 minutes with the assistance of the Eco Club Members and NSS members.

After a short break it was back to the program. The children started the "World Café" module. The children worked on the following questions at four different stations: "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, 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 an enjoyable day, all 76 participants received their certificates from Mr. Rohit Bisht and Mr. Dharmendra Kapri, which recognized them as a Climate Justice Ambassador.  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 Charubeta would like to thank all those involved for their help and support to make this academy possible.

If you want to learn more about becoming an ambassador visit us here!

View the photos taken here.