Environmental education is a niche but widespread domain, which requires one to understand multiple perspectives, schools of thought, understanding of local contexts and key trends.
Critical sustainable challenges such as climate change, resource exploitation and water scarcity are at the center stage of world attention today.
Now it is also well accepted that environmental issues cannot be adequately addressed without driving sustainable thinking and action through the learning process.
Schools can play an important role both as a fountainhead of new ideas and as an enabler of social and ecological changes, which are the need of the hour.
Himalayan Yeti Foundation (HYF), a not-for-profit section 8 company is trying to achieve the above stated goals by promoting 5R’s in the Himalayan region –
- Refuse,
- Reduce,
- Reuse,
- Recycle and
- Recover
along with educating the locals on waste minimization, recycling and environmental issues.
In this endeavor HYF has partnered with Wipro Foundation to implement their Wipro Earthian Program.
Wipro Earthian focuses on hands on knowledge and experience around three themes i.e. waste, water and biodiversity to students. The program consists of annual competition where all the schools from India submit their learning’s from these activities. The selected team wins cash prize of ₹1 Lakh.
HYF has been working in Ladakh for a year now. Their plan is to bring a zero-emission waste management facility in Ladakh to eliminate dump yard like ‘Bomb guard’ which leads to various issues related to health and environment in Ladakh.
They are also focusing on ‘Behavioral Change Communication’ (BCC) so as to impart the 5R’s in tourist.
A ‘Clean-Future Exclusive’ contributed by Nagender Pratap Singh, Founder and Managing Director at Himalayan Yeti Foundation