The green ball is set rolling

- Ms. Queenie Aranjo

17^th July 2012 was a green-letter day at St. Joseph’s.  The GreenLine team spearheaded by Fr. Savio Silveira came a calling to the green school to set the ball rolling for yet another green scholastic year. The school group comprised the school leaders and they were accompanied by the staff representatives Mrs. Pavita Fernandes, Ms. Sunita D’Souza and Ms. Queenie Aranjo. 

At the introductory session, Fr. Savio complimented the school and the leaders for the environment-friendly tag and the commitment to this cause. The challenge now was to carry this commitment forward beyond the boundary walls of the campus or our homes, and impact our neighborhood and city.  Fr. Savio introduced the theme of Biodiversity chosen by the GreenLine team this year through a soul-searching power point presentation. The beautiful world with all its resources and diversity has been reduced to a ‘once upon a time’ tale. If only it had been nurtured, cared for, respected, and allowed to enjoy its rights just as any other human being!

Ms. Devyani from the GreenLine team provided some relevant information on the diverse species that are present in the world.  The mind boggling numbers amazed us – 9,50,000 species of insects, 2,70,000 species of plants, another 19,000 of fish….and the numbers go on.  A quick comparison to the number of species present in India revealed that our nation stands 12^th as the mega diverse nation of the world. Reflecting on the topic of Green cover, Ms Devyani touched upon the importance of trees, and the interdependence of the flora and fauna in any given region. Research shows that we are losing the forest cover at a phenomenal rate every year – the scenario in Mumbai is shocking: 1 tree for every 6 persons. It means an imbalance of the oxygen-carbon dioxide cycle, that in turn affects our climate, food production, and ultimately man himself. The precocious nature and the selfish designs of humans have precipitated this crisis.

An interesting topic on ‘native plants/trees’ was next up for discussion animated by Ms. Parveen.  She stressed on the importance of planting trees that require less water, and also those that adapt to a particular climate. Banyan tree, Gulmohar tree, Peepal tree, Mango tree... were some of the native trees that were identified in the activity conducted.  Fr. Savio Silveira wound up the session with some practical tips/activities to arm ourselves for the green battle ahead: Green mapping of the school campus and of the Five Gardens, Adopting trees, Green wall, and Recycling. This was greeted with enthusiastic ‘ayes’ from the participants sending forth ripples of hope to all the green campaigners of the school and the city!