RCE Chandigarh - 2023

Location

India
See map: Google Maps
IN
Environment Education Programme
Basic Information
Title of project : 
Environment Education Programme
Submitting RCE: 
RCE Chandigarh
Contributing organization(s) : 
1. Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India

2. Punjab State Council for Science & Technology, Govt. of Punjab
Focal point(s) and affiliation(s)
Name: 
Dr. Jatinder Kaur Arora, Executive Director
Organizational Affiliation: 
Punjab State Council for Science & Technology
E-mail: 
jkarora20@rediffmail.com
Name: 
Dr. Kulbir Singh Bath, Joint Director
Organizational Affiliation: 
Punjab State Council for Science & Technology
E-mail: 
ksbath@yahoo.com
Format of project: 
manuscript
Language of project: 
English
Date of submission:
Update
Does this project link to any education and/or sustainable development policy or policies?: 
Yes
LiFE Style for Environment
At what level is the policy operating?: 
National
Geographical & Education Information
Region: 
Asia-Pacific
Country: 
India
Location(s): 
Punjab
Address of focal point institution for project: 
Punjab State Council for Science and Technology
MGSIPA Complex
Sector 26, Chandigarh 160019
Ecosystem(s):
Agricultural, Forest, Fresh water, Wetlands
Target Audience:
Higher, Primary, Secondary, Teacher Ed., Youth (Informal)
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area : 
Punjab is one of the most prosperous states located in the north west of India. It has 23 administrative districts with total population of 27.74 million which forms 2.29% of the Country. The State is recognized as a classic example of fast developing economy with an agricultural base where about 62.51% population is rural. The state’s natural ecosystems are facing an ecological backlash due to over exploitation of natural resources, like soil, water & biodiversity. Being an agrarian State, nearly 82% of the land is used for agricultural activities and thus, is working on increasing its carbon sink by planting more trees outside the forest area.

Environment Awareness Programme has been launched in the state of Punjab,India to supplement knowledge of children & youth through Lifestyle for Environment by organizing training workshops, projects, exhibitions, campaigns and competitions to target school and college eco-club students and youth. The geographical area for these activities are all 23 districts of Punjab.
Description of sustainable development challenge(s) in the area the project addresses: 
The activities under Environment Education Program in Punjab were organized to give target beneficiaries a platform for developing scientific temper and critical thinking, display creativity and nurture values like compassion and empathy, in addition to strengthening of concepts and opportunity to experiment and experience sustainable solutions, which use minimal resources, cause minimal pollution and generate minimal waste. Small projects were awarded to each district for survey and research on sustainable lifestyles. All the projects have been planned to include impactful demonstration projects like solar solutions, waste management units, composting units, water recharging and re-use projects etc.

In addition, Nature camps for Eco-club students were planned for exposure to nature and environmental issues and to help the target beneficiaries to understand and appreciate Punjab’s unique natural diversity, varied ecosystems, flora and fauna, as well as to understand the threats to their survival.. Nature Camps were organized in 5 districts of Punjab having wetlands and forest/ wildlife areas. These districts were Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur.
Contents
Status: 
Completed
Period: 
April, 2022
Rationale: 
Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India had formulated the programme – ‘National Green Corps (NGC)’ in 2001-02, for promoting Eco-club formation and activities in schools across the country. Realizing the need to mobilize the participation of youth also in environmental conservation activities, the NGC programme was revamped as the Environment Education Programme (EEP) to supplement the efforts of Ministry of Education in the formal education front, through varied pedagogical initiatives to impart non-formal environment education. In Punjab, the Environment Education Program was implemented in 2022-23 by the Punjab State Council for Science & Technology to involve 5600 eco-clubs in schools and colleges of Punjab in addition to 16 Universities, S&T Institutions and Colleges, where workshops, campaings, exhibitions and nature camps were conducted on Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) for sustainble approach for our lifestyles.
Objectives: 
The objective of this Programme was to sensitize children/ youth, on issues related to environment and to motivate them to adopt sustainable lifestyle, through varied pedagogical initiatives like workshops, projects, exhibitions, campaigns, competitions, nature camps, summer vacation programmes, etc.
Activities and/or practices employed: 
The activities focussed on training/ campaigns on sustainable lifestyle aimed at motivating children/ youth to think critically and form their habits in such a way as to live in harmony with nature. Psychological interventions to behaviour change like education, enablement, incentivization, modelling, persuasion, training, etc. were the building blocks of this programme laid on the foundation of principles envisaged in the National Education Policy, 2020 of Government of India.
Size of academic audience: 
1,25,000
Results: 
The Environment Education Program supplemented knowledge of children & youth through activities like competitions, campaigns, workshops, projects, exhibitions, and nature camps to target school and college eco-club students and youth in Punjab, India. Additionally, an Environment Film Festival was organized from March 28-30th, at Chandigarh University, Gharuan, Mohali to showcase award-winning national and international films on various aspects of the issue of LiFE, which stands for "Lifestyle For Environment". The festival aimed to address several issues pertaining to LiFE and offered a range of programs and forums that engaged a diverse audience, including students, youth, policy-makers, government officials, and media representatives. The primary objective was to encourage individuals to adopt eco-friendly lifestyles in their day-to-day activities. Moreover, the green festival and forum complemented the ongoing celebrations of "Bharat ka Amrit Mahotsav" and "India's G20 Presidency." Notably, this event was organized under the aegis of the Environment Education Programme (EEP) of the Ministry of Environment,Forest & Climate Change, Govt. of India.

Under Environment Education Program 2022, the World Environment Day was also celebrated on the theme 'Only One Earth' to create awareness among individuals and communities to initiate actions against the growing strain on Earth's natural ecosystem. The Environment Day was celebrated in collaboration with Consulate General of Canada, Chandigarh by organizing a series of week-long activities involving Eco-Clubs of Schools, and colleges under Punjabi University. The World Environment Day 2022 activities included organization of poster making, slogan writing, declamations, waste to wealth, essay writing, quiz, big tree challenge and short video making contests at school, college and university levels.

Lessons learned: 
The Environment Education Program has been successful as Eco-Clubs have already been established by Punjab State Council for Science & Technology in 5500 schools and 100 colleges of Punjab. The program has been ongoing since 2002-03 when it was named as National Green Corps Program. However, the program of Environment Education has been revamped to align it with Mission LiFe (Lifestyle for Environment) to focus on sustainble activities which will protect the environment. Challeges of outreach to all corners of the state are there which are to be addressed through focussed activities and campaings in the coming years.
Key messages: 
‘Environment Education Program aims has supplemented the efforts of Ministry of Education in the formal education front, through varied pedagogical initiatives to impart non-formal environment education. This programme intends to leverage on the key sectoral strength of Eco-clubs already formed under National Green Corps programme, in addition to targeting Youth Clubs and other such clubs/ units/ groups formed under various programmes/ schemes of the Government.
Funding: 
Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India.

Punjab State Council for Science & Technology

Pictures:

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References and reference materials: 
PDF icon Project Completion Report.pdf
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
(https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs) and other themes of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages 
Direct
SDG 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 
Indirect
SDG 6 - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 
Direct
SDG 7 - Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all 
Indirect
SDG 12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 
Direct
SDG 13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 
Indirect
SDG 15 - Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss 
Direct
SDG 17 - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development 
Direct
Theme
Disaster Risk Reduction 
Indirect
Traditional Knowledge  
Direct
Agriculture 
Direct
Arts 
Indirect
Curriculum Development 
Direct
Ecotourism 
Direct
Forests/Trees 
Direct
Plants & Animals 
Direct
Waste 
Direct
ESD for 2030-Priority Action Areas
Priority Action Area 1 - Advancing policy 
state: 
Indirect
Priority Action Area 2 - Transforming learning and training environments 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 3 - Developing capacities of educators and trainers 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 4 - Mobilizing youth 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 5 - Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level 
state: 
Direct
Update: 
Yes
I acknowledge the above: 
Yes