The New Nation - Internet Edition

Mohammad Shahidul Islam

In front of a chalkboard banner that says "ENERGY," fifth-grade teacher Tamanna Ferdous at an esteemed English medium school of Dhaka shakes a plastic bag at her classroom.

"Plastic!" several children roar.

"What is it made from?" she asks.

"Oil!"

In the next classroom, a young girl in green dress with a clipboard asks a teacher if he turns off classroom lights during class breaks and when the room is empty. The teacher nods, and the girl checks the "yes" box on a worksheet entitled "Green Investigation Team."

Dissecting the garbage after a typical lunch, several children wrinkle their noses at the piles of juice boxes, plastic bags, straws, and lunch-item containers they are separating with metal tongs.

They are not yet old enough to drive a solar-powered car, build an energy-efficient home, or vote, but six- to 11-year-olds at the school, are doing what they can to save energy.

The less energy used, the less greenhouse gas enters the atmosphere, notes the principal Tahmina Danesh. "If we all do something, it is going to contribute positively, even if it is in a small way."

The school's conservation program took off one year ago when Ms Danesh was approached by an INGO that distributes a curriculum called Green Earth.

The NGO also helps faculty and janitorial staff plan green programs. In the first 2 month2 of the 6 months program involves training staff in energy, solid waste, and water conservation; the second 2 months emphasizes implementation; and the third 2 months focuses on school energy audits.

The NGO opines, there should arise many participating schools in Bangladesh to contribute to saving the country from Climate Change.

Litterless lunches and "cool school days" are two of the results to grow out of the enthusiasm of the staff, teachers, and students at the school. During the summer, once a week the children come to school in light dresses and the AC and Fan are turned off - dropping the school's considerable carbone emissions.

Twice a month on litterless lunch days, students like 11 year-old Sabera bring bulk food items for lunch. Afterwards, a "green team" collects the trash each class makes and analyzes what food items students should avoid in order to create less garbage.

It must be working. In the main hallway of the school, a 6-foot-wide line graph shows that the school has saved 35,499 kilowatts of electricity, 487 gigajoules of natural gas, and 5 lacks in cash in the last 6 months. One third of the cash savings will be used to fund future conservation programs.

The children's learning and example extend beyond the classroom. Several parents, inspired by their children's conservation efforts, began holding social parties to raise funds for the school's conservation efforts.

The goal is to raise the kids' consciousness, and then it starts seeing changes in the greater community..

Sabera's mother, Mamtaz Chowdhury, says her family used to be "really self-centered." But when her daughter made an issue of practicing conservation at home, she had an epiphany: "Wow, I am a part of this big world." She reports, her daughter Sabera has also composed a green poem. The poem is:

"Our blue-green planet

Our blue planet is…

River-blue, Antarctic blue,

Deep-sea-blue, pond-blue,

Ice-blue, lake blue,

Seal-blue, walrus-blue.

Shark-whale-blue, jellyfish blue,

Dolphin-blue, hippopotamus-blue,

butterfly-blue, peacock-blue,

Forget-me-not-blue, bluebell-blue.

Our green planet is…

Stem-green, leaf-green,

Seaweed-green, cactus-green,

Lily-pad-green, holly-green,

Tree-green, forest-green.

Kiwi-green, apple-green,

Green-bean-green, cress-green,

Peppermint-green, coriander-green,

Gherkin-green, cucumber-green.

Snake-green, grasshopper-green,

Caterpillar-green, stink-bug-green,

Parrot-green, chameleon-green,

Crocodile-green, frog-green.

Let's protect our blue-green planet!"

Geography teacher Ms Sultana, Green Earth most active supporter, says that elementary school students are especially receptive to learning about conservation, and they are learning more than facts. They are finding out where energy comes from and sharpening critical thinking skills.

The implications for little Sabera are very simple: "The world is going to be worse if we waste everything up."

The article is imaginatively written