Vasundhara-The Nature Club:
The story (By Dhruv Malhotra- one of the first members of the Club)
WHO ARE WE AND HOW IT ALL STARTED
The Conservation Club of Springdales School, New Delhi aims to initiate a sense of environmental responsibility and consciousness about the grave environmental crisis that the Earth faces today. We achieve this through various fora such as the school curriculum, 'Action' programmes, creative programmes (such as debates, declamations, writing, painting etc.), and tangible ACTION such as School Cleanup programmes, tree planting campaigns etc.
THE STORY
I was a very ordinary school going child, though always a brilliant academician, until the Year 1998. I went about my mundane tasks monotonously sincerely without a mission: a goal. I needed a conduit channelise my youthful energy into something productive! In 1998, through Providence's Grace that Conduit came to me: I came in contact with a wonderful lady who bubbled with enthusiasm. She was to be my New Class Teacher and her name was Mrs. J. Venkatesh. She was a new science teacher in our school, and had radical teaching concepts and ideas. She integrated into the science curriculum, the subject of environmental degradation and conservation: a subject we were previously completely unaware of. She intrigued us with her passion and determination with her youthful passion and enthused us with a new desire to do something for our country and society and make something of our lives! She urged us to be conscious and responsible and realize role as the Millennial Generation who had the Herculean task of saving our dying planet. Thus she made us aware of the roles we had to play as responsible citizens of the world to save the deteriorating environment. Our 8-grade class started with small-scale projects such as keeping our class and corridor clean, not using plastic bags etc. This was the spark that ignited the fire. Along with Mrs. Venkatesh, a few other students and I decided to form a Conservation Club and register under WWF-India's Nature Club's of India movement. At first everyone was incredulous and sarcastic calling us 'Janitors' and 'Garbage Pickers'. We remained undaunted and continued our campaign. We were determined to make the students aware of the environmental problem. By April 1999, our Club had members from all Grades of the school and its strength was 160. Thus began my campaign as a youth activist.
NCI
In India, we have an organized conservation movement called NCI (Nature Clubs of India) Movement. Under the aegis of this movement, which is led by WWF-India, we have conservation groups run and led by students in schools. Generally these groups with around 200 members in ages 12-17 years are engaged in grassroots environmental campaigns which are organized and planned by the central planning education division of WWF-India. This is a very successful initiative and member schools have achieved a lot as regards bringing about environmental sanity in the school and local community. Besides implementing the campaigns and projects of WWF-India, some Nature Clubs can also plan their own activities and implement them. A creative boost is given by WWF-India by periodically organizing creative contests for members of NIC which focus on specific environmental issues (such as art, poetry, essay writing, drama etc.) besides organizing heritage trails, field trips etc. Thus, it has been observed that such kind of organized environmental campaigns with adults and youth working in close partnership can be very successful.
My school also has a nature club, which I lead as the Vice-President.
WHO/WHAT WHERE IS VASUNDHARA?
Our youth conservation group is called Vasundhara, which means 'The Earth Goddess' in Sanskrit. This word encompasses such a multitude of meaning. It does not merely represent a mythical being but for us it has a very deep significance. It represents the symbiotical relationship between man and the earth. Its a symbol of our reverence to our mentor, our mother, our life the earth. It is that relationship that we cherish for Mother Earth is LIFE!
Our Nature Club has been christened Vasundhara, after the Hindu Goddess of the Earth. We have pledged to work towards conservation and the restoration of the unparalleled magnificence of Mother Nature and the Earth itself, which has been lost to Man’s callousness. We are affiliated to WWF-India and are registered under their Nature Clubs of India (NCI) Movement.
The members of this Club are from Grades 6-12 and are in the age group of 11-17. At the same time the senior members periodically visit the junior classes (from Grades 2-5) and talk to them about Conservation and how they can make a difference, in preparation for them to be responsible future members of the Club.
Born in February 1998, our club been immersed in a multitude of activity. We have been active in all spheres of conservation activity. We have programmes in partnerships with
specialized organizations such as Tiger Trust, DEAN (Delhi Environmental Awareness Network), NMNH (National Museum of Natural History), Nature's SOULE
(Saviors of Unpolluted Life on Earth.) and of course with WWF-India. These organizations
with their specialized expertise in Conservation Science run programmes directed towards environmental awareness and action in the youth.