In 2013, the Humboldt University in collaboration with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Change Impact (PIK) in Germany launched a one year project in my home city Hyderabad by the name "Sustainable Hyderabad". The aim of the project was to enable students from different schools to learn about Carbon Footprints and energy resources. The program was funded by Nexus Institute, Germany and Eco-Slate Project of the British Council.
Initially a few school in the city were selected and a one week workshop for the students of these school was done under the leadership of Mr. Lutz Moe, Project Coordinator for Hyderabad. During the workshop the students were taught about the procedure to calculate their own Home Carbon Footprint. Carbon Footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by an individual/organisation/group of individuals in the time span of one year. In the same way, students were made to calculate the carbon footprint of their schools. Once all data was calculated, a pie chart depicting this data was made and presented during the brainstorming sessions. Solutions to decrease the carbon footprints of individuals and schools were discussed.
After this one week workshop, all schools started focusing on the implementation of these solutions at the earliest possible date. My school (Sri Aurobindo International School) purchased Solar Panels to make sure that the complete school runs only on solar energy. Today, my school is the only one in the city to have complete energy independence. A variety of solutions were implemented across the schools in Hyderabad, ranging from the construction of compost pits to installation of environment friendly electrical appliances. With the hard work and cooperation of the students and faculty of the participating schools, the project was a success.
At the Grand Closing Ceremony of this project, all students were awarded certificates of appreciation. A variety of cultural programs were performed at the Ceremony by the students to mark the success of this formidable project. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) awarded this project and congratulated all the participants. The GHMC has also promised during the press conference of this project that it will help all schools in Hyderabad adopt the methods of the participating schools. This project has now been handed over to GHMC and the State Govt. which are looking after its implementation.
3 Comments
Your school deserves three cheers. Congrats.
Posted 09-06-2014 21:19
Sri Aurobindo International School is energy independent.
You must be Proud to be a student of such a school. Congrats.
Posted 07-06-2014 18:28
What a nice report from inception stage till completion and hand over -very vivdly you took us thru the progress of this project"Sustainable Hyderabad". I thoroughly enjoyed reading it . Your school did a good job.
Posted 30-05-2014 02:12