The Green Squad, a flagship initiative crafted by the Shillim Institute in collaboration with ATREE and other experts, stands as a beacon for ecological education tailored specifically for schoolchildren. This carefully designed program equips students with an understanding of global environmental challenges, rooted in the context of their local surroundings. At its core, the initiative aspires to instill a sense of environmental responsibility, promote critical thinking, and cultivate a deep appreciation for the wonders of the natural world.
Tailored to the unique characteristics of specific communities, the program employs an interactive teaching approach, blending indoor and outdoor activities. It addresses local concerns such as biodiversity, water sustainability, environmental awareness, climate change, renewable energy, and landscape degradation, exploring connections both locally and on a global scale. Through this collaborative approach, the Green Squad aims not only to deepen students' comprehension of these issues, but also to foster an awareness of the challenges and solutions shaping their world. In championing this initiative, the Green Squad hopes to plant the seeds of environmental stewardship, nurturing a generation of young minds poised to make a positive impact on the world around them.
Program Facts
- 8 schools
- 12 sessions per school
- 25 students per school
Modules
- Biodiversity
- Urban Ecology and Green Spaces
- Water Sustainability
- Waste and Waste Management
- Climate change
- Renewable Energy
- Land Use and Land Cover (LULC)
- Our Agriculture and Issues with It
- Role of Western Ghats in India
- National and International Environmental Law and Policy
Annual Day 2023
To celebrate the first year of this flagship program, we held an annual day at the Shillim Institute Campsite for the students, teachers and their families. Students set up display tables to showcase the projects they had been working on through the year. These included stream observation, testing types of soil, mapping and identifying trees and different herbariums.
We also set up a farm produce table that showcased the organic produce the children planted on site through the year. Another table displayed seeds of native trees and shrubs collected by the students and forest guards. It was a wonderful experience with students singing the unofficial Green Squad ‘anthem’ and an interactive theatre performance to close the event, and was well received by parents, teachers and all who attended. We hope that this is the first of many to come.