Through rainwater harvesting, green pledges, and online campaigns, one educator proves how simple steps can create lasting ripples of change
I started my journey on water conservation in 2013 when I was the Principal in Kendriya Vidyalaya (K.V.), Mussoorie. At the time, there was an acute problem of drinking water there, therefore a new project on Rain Water Harvesting was adopted. We raised awareness on water conservation among students through water exhibitions, rallies, debates, and essay and painting competitions. We also planted about 7,000 saplings in nearby hills and managed to preserve enough water for over 800 students. Finally, a 30,000-litre tank was constructed for harvesting rainwater and it was utilized for cleaning floors, toilets, and watering plants.
In 2016, I was transferred to K.V. No. 1, Roorkee and continued this venture. We conducted an offline pledge called ‘Save Water, Save Future’ in various schools in Roorkee—including K.V. No. 2, Cantt Board School, Government Inter College, St. Ann’s School, Chandrashekhar School, etc. We also conducted this pledge online and engaged 12,500+ students, teachers, and parents. Further I also launched multiple Facebook groups on ‘Save Water, Save Future’ and ‘Inspirational Save Water, Save Future group’ involving over 2,000 members. Finally, our efforts bore result and we arranged for a 50,000-litre storage tank in our school for recharging groundwater.
Apart from water-related concerns, I also conducted pledges on different environmental issues like: a Green Pledge, Swachhata pledge, Say No To Single Use Plastic pledge, and Say No To Crackers pledge. During COVID, we held webinars with scientists, inter-school exhibitions, and quizzes on Ganga, Environment day, yoga, and Poshan Abhiyaan. Hence my school became a part of some prominent eco-schools in India and also received the Green School Award from Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan in 2018. Some of these efforts I made were published by the Ministry of Water Resources in February and March 2021, and also earned me the Green Leader Award from Igniting Dreams of Young Minds in the same year.
As we are already working together to preserve water for our future generations, I aim to get at least a lakh students, teachers, and parents undertake the ‘Save Water Save Future’ pledge by next year.
Principal, Kendirya Vidyalaya No. 1 Roorkee, Haridwar District, Uttarakhand
Illustrator, Art & Design, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi.