This school's proactive Climate Action Group is helping monitor natural disasters

Students are actively engaged in collecting data to monitor landslides in Malayinchippara, Kottayam district, Kerala
Pic: Edexlive
Pic: Edexlive

A small 97-year-old school in the Kottayam district of Kerala is gaining attention for its proactive Climate Action Group. St Joseph's UP School, Malayinchippara, which has 100 students, has set an example for other educational institutions by getting actively involved in monitoring the vagaries of nature. Located at a place that is prone to landslides, the school is collecting day-to-day data on the amount of rainfall in and around the Panchayat.

"Our school is part of the Meenachil River and Rain Monitoring Network and monitors the daily rainfall using rain gauges," said Headmistress Sr Linse Mary. According to her, the rain gauge was installed in the school premises on September 16, 2020. "Two other gauges have been installed at the houses of our students Pathampuzha Poondikulam Aby and Aruvikkchalil Roy," she said.

"The students monitor the gauges every day and the data is uploaded on the website of the network," she added. The students understand the necessity of such an endeavour. "The entire area is a hilly region and prone to landslides. Koottickal, where a huge landslide claimed the lives of 13 people recently, is just 10 km from our place," said the HM of the school that turns 100 in 2025.

She said, "The 30-member Climate Action Group also assists the Meenachil River Protection Council (MRPC) in running a hi-tech flood alert system for people living along the river." According to her, the data collected by the students adds to a series of precipitation monitoring statistics collected from different points along the Meenachil river in Kottayam. "All this data becomes very useful in planning disaster management measures," she added.

According to the HM, Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist with the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, had visited the school and helped the students understand the importance of maintaining the rain gauges. "He suggested keeping a separate record of the data collected by the students," she said, adding the students have been involved in various activities aimed at making the environment clean and pollution-free. "We have also won many prizes for the activities. Every tiny bit contributes to the conservation of nature and better disaster management," said Sr Linse.

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