‘ NATURE CAMPS’

For the last two years we were fortunate to have got nature education camps at Silent Valley National Park, Mukkaly. This year also we were selected for the same camp. Silent Valley is one of the oldest forests still at large in the face of earth. The ecological diversity is still not fully documented or studied. As our school is situated in the buffer zone of the park, it is of extreme importance to be aware of the value of the forest to humankind.

This year the camp for our club begins on October 26th and ends on the 28th. Lot of our young club members got inspiration from such camps. They remain attached to the club because they start to love nature when they see the beauty.

‘ NATURE CAMPS’

For the last two years we were fortunate to have got nature education camps at Silent Valley National Park, Mukkaly. This year also we were selected for the same camp. Silent Valley is one of the oldest forests still at large in the face of earth. The ecological diversity is still not fully documented or studied. As our school is situated in the buffer zone of the park, it is of extreme importance to be aware of the value of the forest to humankind.

This year the camp for our club begins on October 26th and ends on the 28th. Lot of our young club members got inspiration from such camps. They remain attached to the club because they start to love nature when they see the beauty.

MUSHROOM CULTIVATION (22nd August 2009)

This is a programme initiated by our club members. The aims of the programme are to develop & achieve the skill in agriculture, bio-farming along with ‘earning while learning’. 30 interested students were selected from various classes. Experts from Swadeshi Shastra Prasthan lead the programme. This programme was arranged on the 22nd August 2009, at school premises.
Karuvarakundu Panchayath Agricultural Officer Sri. Vijayakumar inaugurated the training programme. Head Master Sr.Bhaskaran Master presided over the function.
In his speech, Vijayakumar told various experiences and he also stressed about the dangerous side effects of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. He offered the club members packets of seeds of various vegetables to be cultivated at their home. He also asked the club members to initiate a vegetable garden in our school.

Sri.Suresh Master was the resource person in the training. He started from the history of mushroom cultivation, its nutritional value, its economics. These aspects made the students to hear the class attentively. It was a demonstration actually. We prepared the hay by dipping it in water for more than 20 hours and then boiling it for one hour, which helped to get rid of bacteria. Then we let the excess water in the hay to drain down. Only 30-40% of water is necessary in the hay. Then the hay was rounded and put in plastic covers. The seeds of mushroom were sawn by the sides of the cover. The cover was tightened and was kept in a special room where there will not be excess light. It was hanged on the wall as it should not come in contact with the ground. It will remain so for around 20 days then we have to remove the cover.

HARVESTING THE MUSHROOM
After 17 days the mushroom was ready for harvest. It was also due to the humidity present in the room where we kept it. Usually it takes around 20 days or more. The students participated in the training programme was present during the harvest. Head Master E.Bhaskaran inaugurated the harvest. It was sold on the spot to A.Vinod Master for an amount of Rs.100/- . we expect more earnings from this crop in the coming days.

The mushroom was harvested thrice. First on the 17th day, then on the 20th and finally on the 21st day. It was sold on the spot twice and once it was given away free of charge to two club members. More than 500 gms was harvested each time. One teacher who bought the mushroom told that it was very helpful to one of his relative suffering from cancer and who is under chemotherapy. It is found that the vomiting tendency is very less when the mushroom is taken.
But unfortunately it was destroyed by some mischievous & anti-social elememtns. The threads were broken and bags were thrown out. Our hearts broke when we saw the scene. But we decided that we will take up the battle and will do more farming of mushroom after taking some protective measures. Let not our enemies win.

DEVELOPMENT IN CAMPUS (ECO-FRIENDLY)????

Quest for Sustainable develepment
Every society needs development; especially in the present education scenario Govt. schools need to compete with private institutions. Infrastructure is one of the key factors which attract students and parents. The qualities of teachers are much better than our competitors, so we need more buildings to accommodate our students to have better education. Our school also received grant from Govt. for construction of buildings, so that the shift system prevalent in our school will change. We welcome this step as a fortunate one. Thanks to the Wandoor M.L.A. Sri. Anil Kumar and other representatives of our locality in making the dream come true.
But what made us so sad was that the big patch of natural vegetation remained was to be viped out due to this construction. Lot of public spending are being done to grow trees, like ‘ ente maram’, National Rural Employment Programme’, social forestry programmes etc. In text books including that of languages lot of stress is given for the importance of environment protection. So the students raised a question:-
Was any other option ever discussed instead of the present one which has less impact on our enviroment?
The same question raised in our minds also. But sadly they doubts were never addressed. Protests were completely suppressed. More than 15 big trees, lot of shrubs and herbs were destroyed. We have earlier documented the medicinal herbs found in that area. A small riverulet-cum-drainage which used to flow during rainy season was filled up. The well supplying water to the student strength of more than 3000 students in the school is also situated in this area. The bio-diversity of the whole area is destroyed. We contacted several officials in Education, Forest and media for the protection of the same, but unfortunately none bore results. Local politics also played against those who stood for alternatives. Lot of verbal harassment still continues.
Why the same wood was not used for making furniture needed for more than 13 classes?
We also would like to see the Social Forestry Dept. to develop a vision which is more eco friendly. It should rise from the position of just giving clearances to the plans submitted by the parties to an authority which can recommend some alternatives which will enrich the environment/ lessen the damage to the environment.
We prepared some 17 pictures depicting our protests and our doubts. We want these questions to be considered when there is development. Holistic development which goes in hand without destroying the environment should be preferred.(For more pictures please visit our flickr site:)

MUSHROOM CULTIVATION (22nd August 2009)

This is a programme initiated by our club members. The aims of the programme are to develop & achieve the skill in agriculture, bio-farming along with ‘earning while learning’. 30 interested students were selected from various classes. Experts from Swadeshi Shastra Prasthan lead the programme. This programme was arranged on the 22nd August 2009, at school premises.
Karuvarakundu Panchayath Agricultural Officer Sri. Vijayakumar inaugurated the training programme. Head Master Sr.Bhaskaran Master presided over the function.
In his speech, Vijayakumar told various experiences and he also stressed about the dangerous side effects of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. He offered the club members packets of seeds of various vegetables to be cultivated at their home. He also asked the club members to initiate a vegetable garden in our school.

Sri.Suresh Master was the resource person in the training. He started from the history of mushroom cultivation, its nutritional value, its economics. These aspects made the students to hear the class attentively. It was a demonstration actually. We prepared the hay by dipping it in water for more than 20 hours and then boiling it for one hour, which helped to get rid of bacteria. Then we let the excess water in the hay to drain down. Only 30-40% of water is necessary in the hay. Then the hay was rounded and put in plastic covers. The seeds of mushroom were sawn by the sides of the cover. The cover was tightened and was kept in a special room where there will not be excess light. It was hanged on the wall as it should not come in contact with the ground. It will remain so for around 20 days then we have to remove the cover.

HARVESTING THE MUSHROOM
After 17 days the mushroom was ready for harvest. It was also due to the humidity present in the room where we kept it. Usually it takes around 20 days or more. The students participated in the training programme was present during the harvest. Head Master E.Bhaskaran inaugurated the harvest. It was sold on the spot to A.Vinod Master for an amount of Rs.100/- . we expect more earnings from this crop in the coming days.

The mushroom was harvested thrice. First on the 17th day, then on the 20th and finally on the 21st day. It was sold on the spot twice and once it was given away free of charge to two club members. More than 500 gms was harvested each time. One teacher who bought the mushroom told that it was very helpful to one of his relative suffering from cancer and who is under chemotherapy. It is found that the vomiting tendency is very less when the mushroom is taken.
But unfortunately it was destroyed by some mischievous & anti-social elememtns. The threads were broken and bags were thrown out. Our hearts broke when we saw the scene. But we decided that we will take up the battle and will do more farming of mushroom after taking some protective measures. Let not our enemies win.

DEVELOPMENT IN CAMPUS (ECO-FRIENDLY)????

Quest for Sustainable develepment
Every society needs development; especially in the present education scenario Govt. schools need to compete with private institutions. Infrastructure is one of the key factors which attract students and parents. The qualities of teachers are much better than our competitors, so we need more buildings to accommodate our students to have better education. Our school also received grant from Govt. for construction of buildings, so that the shift system prevalent in our school will change. We welcome this step as a fortunate one. Thanks to the Wandoor M.L.A. Sri. Anil Kumar and other representatives of our locality in making the dream come true.
But what made us so sad was that the big patch of natural vegetation remained was to be viped out due to this construction. Lot of public spending are being done to grow trees, like ‘ ente maram’, National Rural Employment Programme’, social forestry programmes etc. In text books including that of languages lot of stress is given for the importance of environment protection. So the students raised a question:-
Was any other option ever discussed instead of the present one which has less impact on our enviroment?
The same question raised in our minds also. But sadly they doubts were never addressed. Protests were completely suppressed. More than 15 big trees, lot of shrubs and herbs were destroyed. We have earlier documented the medicinal herbs found in that area. A small riverulet-cum-drainage which used to flow during rainy season was filled up. The well supplying water to the student strength of more than 3000 students in the school is also situated in this area. The bio-diversity of the whole area is destroyed. We contacted several officials in Education, Forest and media for the protection of the same, but unfortunately none bore results. Local politics also played against those who stood for alternatives. Lot of verbal harassment still continues.
Why the same wood was not used for making furniture needed for more than 13 classes?
We also would like to see the Social Forestry Dept. to develop a vision which is more eco friendly. It should rise from the position of just giving clearances to the plans submitted by the parties to an authority which can recommend some alternatives which will enrich the environment/ lessen the damage to the environment.
We prepared some 17 pictures depicting our protests and our doubts. We want these questions to be considered when there is development. Holistic development which goes in hand without destroying the environment should be preferred.(For more pictures please visit our flickr site:)

SEMINAR ON:- THE ROLE OF STUDENTS IN THE CONSERVATION OF BIO-DIVERSITY (1ST AUGUST 2009)

The ecological importance of Karuvarakundu and the role of students in the conservation of the same was the topic on which a seminar was organised by our club. The seminar was inaugurated by the Wild Life Warden(Silent Valley National Park) Sri.S.Shivadasan,I.F.S. Development which is detrimental to the environment will do more harm in the future than good. He told that as an area adjacent to the Silent Valley National Park, Karuvarakundu has a special importance. The heartbreaking memories of the grand old trees cut down for the construction of new building should give internal strength to the students to work for a greener future. He observed that it is sad to note that such anti-environmental activities are taking place when the syllabi asks for a pro-active stand in this issue from the students.

Programme Co-Ordinator Dr.M.K. Harinarayanan, Kerala State Bio-Diversity Board and Dr.P.Balakrishnan, WRCTI Nilambur presented their papers on the flora and fauna of the western ghat areas respectively. A slide show was presented by Dr.Balakrishnan to demonstrate the fauna varieties found in this area.
After the paper presentation was over a question time was give to the students to clear their doubts. There was a influx of question from the students side.
The meeting was presided over by Head Master. Bhaskaran Master. A.Vinod, Sivasankaran, Sunil, M.Mani, Shifla.O..V, Favas Khan etc talked on the occasion.