TERI organises 1st Educators' Conference to enhance environment education

Gurgaon, Nov 15 (ANI/Business Wire India): The global environmental concern requires urgent attention, and education plays a vital role in sensitising the future by providing proper information to involve them in the process of combating its negative effects.

To present the right information on environment, its degrading condition and impact on our daily lives, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) organised its first three-day School Environment Educators Conference at its sprawling Terrigram complex, with 360 teachers from schools coming from all over the country and select regional nations.

Present on the valedictory function of the conference were Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Chief Minister Haryana, and Dr. R.K.Pachauri, Director- General, TERI and Chairman IPCC. They stressed on the need for formal as well as non-formal curriculum in the schools to promote environment education.

Addressing the gathering, Hooda said, "The State's endeavour has been to offer the best education to the young people. With premier institutions like TERI at the helm of affairs in environment education and awareness, it will help our curriculum to encompass real-world skills to make our students productive and useful members of professional workforce."

The Chief Minister praised TERI for its efforts for initiating the training-of-teachers programme to sensitise children from an early age. He asked the teachers to teach children the vital need of afforestation and sustainable development. "Education plays a quintessential role in forming a brigade of sensitised future leaders," Hooda pointed out.

The conference inducted the teaching community on how to enhance their learning curve to promote modern methods of environment education and climate change. It provided the educators with an opportunity to share experiences, and network with other teachers. The workshops organised on the previous two days of the conference also initiated activities for the classrooms through formal and non- formal methods and tools.

Emphasising on the need to build such bridges of learning, Dr. Pachauri said, "This conference, I am certain, has enriched the teachers and they will implement these experiences in their own schools to achieve excellency, and help in the formation of a green society."

The TERI Director General drew the attention of the Haryana Chief Minister by saying that "Haryana, the greenery of India, should become the granary of India." Dr Pachauri also promised TERI's readiness to provide all assistance in creating a Knowledge Corridor in Haryana.

Chief Minister Hooda responded promptly and promised to take TERI's assistance to create such a knowledge pool that will promote research and development, and other activities, to make Haryana greener.

The first of the Educators' Conference organised by TERI addressed key issues related to environment -- with a focus on Climate Change -- to enable teachers to play a more proactive role. The drive was an essential process of enhancing environment education knowledge followed by positive action.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Ministry of Environment and Forestry, GTZ, Tetrapak India Pvt Ltd, JSW, UNESCO, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, NCERT and SCERT have supported this initiative undertaken by TERI.

The Educators were also taken around TERI's Resource Efficient Retreat for Environmental Awareness and Training campus (TERI - RETREAT). One of the teacher's said, "It has been an enlightening experience of TERI's exemplary mandate of sustainable development by advocating the concept of green buildings, which register minimal impact on the environment."

The teachers learnt about the integrated design elements, the solar passive architecture, renewable sources of energy, conventional and non-conventional heating-cooling and energy-saving features of the campus.

During his valedictory speech, the Haryana Chief Minister released the first series of five Knowledge Books on environment for children, published by TERI Press and marketed and distributed by Pearson Education in India. Vivek Govil, CEO, Pearson Education presented the set of books to Hooda.

This unique series of well-illustrated and attractively designed books for children -- Save Planet Earth, Green Genius Guide, From Nature to Home, and Amazing Journey would help inculcate a sense of responsibility amongst the children and young adults towards environment.

ANI