Teachers should not limit themselves to teaching kids but they must explore different ways to improve the environment around their school, believes CM Nagraja, a Science teacher from the Government High School at Doddabanahalli in Bengaluru South. Recently, the Union Education Ministry released a list of teachers who have won the prestigious National Award to Teachers for their unique contributions to the field of education. And yes, Nagaraja is obviously one of them. Why should it be this obvious? Once you've read his story and what he's done for his school, you'll have the answer to that question.
Nagaraja recalls, "I joined the Doddabanahalli Government High School in 2019 and immediately thought that the school campus could be converted into an eco-friendly one. Since I am a Science teacher, I try to explore different ways to implement some key eco-friendly practices that are known across the country and worldwide too. The first thing I noticed when I joined was a pile of broken chairs and tables tossed in the corner. I recycled these and converted them into a projector table, a newspaper stand and a cupboard that is now used by teachers and students." What a way to start!
The second step in converting the campus into an eco-friendly zone was to get everyone to segregate waste into wet and dry waste. While the dry waste was recycled and reused, the wet waste was decomposed in a pit that was dug in the school campus. Talking about his third initiative, Nagaraja says, "The next thing I did was reach out to donors, NGOs and government officials to get a rainwater harvesting system installed in the campus. Whenever we cook midday meals in the school, we need a bare minimum of 1,000 litres of water for a week to wash the utensils. This water can then be pumped into the school's kitchen garden to water the plant saplings. I also introduced a drip irrigation and sprinkler system in the school garden. This helped us save a lot of water. While fresh water was saved through the drip irrigation system, water used to wash vessels was also reused." Overall, a lot of 'saving' going on here.
Following this, the 43-year-old teacher moved on to recycling plastic milk covers. He says, "We used to collect these covers and give them to local tailors who would turn them into huge covers that were used to protect computer screens." The lockdown and the pandemic have only helped more of Nagaraja's ideas see fruition. He designed a micro chemistry kit for students to conduct experiments on laminated sheets. He explains, "I have been collecting syrup bottles from the village only to refill them with chemicals that can be used for experiments. The idea behind this was to make practical learning more accessible for students during the lockdown. Similarly, I have also created a few English videos on YouTube to help students understand various scientific concepts more easily." Clearly there is no stopping him from doing all he can for his students and his planet.
