Plant & pedal drive by Institute of Advanced Management to mark World Environment Day

It may have been just another Monday morning for others, but June 5 — World Environment Day — was an action-packed one for students of IAM (Institute of Advanced Management).

We planted trees, cycled around the bheris and thanks to the projects undertaken by our college in collaboration with Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco), learnt an important lesson about protecting our surroundings.

My classmates, teachers and I reached our Sector V campus as early as 4am and began preparations. Within an hour, some 250 cyclists gathered on our grounds and we had to help them get registered. While some cyclists were coming from groups like Kolkata Police Fitness, BSS Runners, North Kolkata Runners and Cycle Network Group, many students joined them too.

For them, the college had hired bikes and together, they would all be cycling across Sector V and the bheris up to Panache housing complex and back. It would be about 20km.

My job was with the food and beverage department on campus and we arranged refreshments for the participants and welcomed them. We also had another leg of events at New Town that day and I soon accompanied our faculty members there.

Plant 15 trees each

In New Town, we held a tree plantation drive at a plot, designated by Hidco, near Balaka Abasan. Inaugurating the event was Hidco managing director Debashis Sen. Known for his commitment to environmental causes, Sen encouraged us to engage in the drive.

“This is a great effort to restore some balance in the environment. Each of us should vow to plant at least 15 trees in our lifetime in an attempt to repay our debt to nature. The stretch where the plantation drive took place was earlier infested with weeds and shrubs. That was cleaned out to make a fresh start on World Environment Day. Hidco has also engaged a landscape architect to curate it,” Sen said.

A hundred Madagascar Almond Trees were planted, contributing to the region’s green cover. Students were excited too. “It is with great enthusiasm and a sense of responsibility that we have gathered here today. This activity symbolises our commitment to conservation and fosters a sense of unity and collective action. I’m proud to be a part of this,” said Ayush Chakraborty, final year student and general secretary of IAM.

The initiative was taken under the guidance of the group director of IAM, Maitreyee Chaudhuri. “Not just June 5, each day is environment day. We need to understand that the environment is for us and we are because of the environment. The cyclothon and plantation drive is IAM’s way of sending a message of adapting cycling as an eco-friendly mode of transportation and a healthy lifestyle,” she said.

Chaudhuri asked students to join hands for a better tomorrow and to plant more trees. “There is no better alternative to safeguard the earth and our own existence. Since education is not restricted to four walls, it is important that students, who are our future, partake in this activity,” she added.

Cycling into the future

Once I returned to the campus, I found the cyclists coming back too from the wetlands. They were receiving medals for participation and were full of stories of their ride. Despite the heat they were in awe of the beautiful waterbodies and birds they saw.

“The view of the bheris that we crossed was breath-taking! And we got to meet new people because of this cyclothon too,” smiled Sk Shakil Ahmed, a second year student.

Guest riders were happy too. “The event was well-planned and we enjoyed every moment of it. We look forward to joining hands with you students in the years to come,” said Sandip Koiry of BSS Runners. “The eco-friendly cause was an important one too and we should all contribute to it.”

I do not know how to ride a bike but all the excitement made me long to cycle. Perhaps I shall give it a try so that next year on World Environment Day I not just organise but also can take part in the cyclothon. Who knows, maybe I’ll even start commuting to college on cycle, thereby reducing my carbon footprint!

Titas Nath, 2nd year, IAM

Green touch to summer camp end

School students of SPK Jain Futuristic Academy celebrated World Environment Day through several fun activities.

The school, located near The Westin Kolkata Rajarhat, follows the international IGCSE board and will begin classes for its first batch from June 20. “We had held a summer camp for kids that culminated on June 5,” said the school’s honorary secretary Jaideep Patwa.

Young students made clay models of what they felt comprised the environment — animals, plants, the sun and rainbow. Some made finger- painting images of trees and showed their skills through T-shirt painting.

They put up song, dance and a skit to pledge their commitment to sustainability, alongside a tree plantation drive. Finally, students were gifted mementoes to serve as a daily reminder to stay true to the mission of saving the planet.

“Our school’s approach to education will be extremely modern,” said Patwa. “Instead of spoon-feeding information, we shall give students the freedom to learn on their own while providing them with the right ambience and guidance. This is how we conducted the environment day programme here too.”