2. NATURE CLUB TRIP WITH TREE PLANTATION DRIVE

All students took home saplings of various local foliage and fruit trees, and nurtured them for two weeks. They learnt how to take care of the plants appropriately, and learnt about the specific species and features of the plant they were nurturing.
This culminated into a trip to a farm near Gorai, Borivali on 6th August, where the students planted these saplings, which they had nurtured, on the road side on the way to Esselworld.

They also got the opportunity to learn the basis of rice plantation and plant the paddy in the fields themselves.

During the trip, the students visited the cowshed and farm with goats, hens and various other animals, and explored different types of fruiting trees like lemon and pomegranate.

The second part of the trip was our journey to the Global Vipassana Pagoda. This is a huge complex, housing the world’s largest pillar-less stone dome and a large area comprising a wide variety of flowering plants and trees. Guided by a tour guide, students were explained about the life of Buddha through the paintings there. They also understood the connections of cycles of human life and the forces of nature.

The students then went to the meditation hall and were guided to meditate, by concentrating on their breath cycle.The students explored their surroundings, the Pagoda and thoroughly enjoyed the delicious food in the lap of nature.

3. PLASTIC WASTE COLLECTION DRIVE AND POSTER COMPETITION

Students collected waste plastic from their homes and deposited it in school. This collection was taken by ICPE and sent for recycling. Members of the club and EVS students attended a talk organised by  ICPE (Indian Centre for Plastics in the Environment) and took part in the All India School Contest to make posters to raise awareness about plastic waste. Ms Aliya Premji of std 11C won the 3rd place in this competition.

4. CHARTS FOR THE NATURE CLUB BOARD

Through the making of charts and posters, members of the club were provided with a deeper understanding on various topics related to the environment and conservation, like coral bleaching, the use of plastic and sustainable development. Charts were put up on the Nature Club Board in rotation, on various relevant topics like incorporating modern technology in agriculture, National Parks in India and pollution.

5. WASTE PAPER COLLECTION DRIVE

The Nature Club also conducted a waste paper collection drive, where paper was upcycled in to notebooks, which were distributed in BMC Schools. A total of 32 kgs were collected in the first round and 41 kgs were collected in the second round.

6. KIDS FOR TIGERS

Nature club has been associated with KTF and taken part in nature walks and other activities with them. Enthusiastic responses were from the younger students. Students and teachers signed the banner in support of Save the Tiger.

6. POTTING OF PLANTS FOR SALE IN NATURE CLUB STALL IN FUNFAIR

Students planted and nurtured foliage, fruiting and flowering plants, like basil, mint, rose and lime, under the guidance of gardeners. They took these plants home and nurtured them for 15 days.

True to tradition, the Nature Club hosted a stall at the Annual School Funfair and these plants were sold there. The stall was a success and all the plants were sold out within 2 hours! We made a record collection this year.

7. EDUCATIONAL TALK

On 27 January 2023, students attended a talk by 4 resource persons.

1. Sushma Mehta runs Rejuvenate, which is a jewellery design business where she reuses industrial junk and scraps and ecofriendly materials like jute and wood converting them into fashion accessories. She elaborated on the process and how she has made this a successful sustainable venture.

2. Jignasa Shah is a director of a 40 year old award winning gardening company called JKDHortitech and founder of Grow with love.

She was our resource person for teaching gardening to our students and doing plantation drives.

She explained the process of putting up wall gardens, including the one in senior school.

She spoke about the symmetry in the functioning of Nature outside and the Nature of the mind inside and how greens calm our life stresses. She spoke about the role of plants and how they can be used for reversing the adverse effects of climate change and pollution .

3. Navya Mittal of std 12 did an internship with an organisation called Wildnest and went on many nature trails. She put together a summary of all the possible wildlife one could see and learn about Mumbai’s biodiversity on these walks. She made the students of our school aware of all the wildlife that’s present in the middle of our city itself, and encouraged them to participate as well.

4. Aria Almeida’s presentation was about her work with GreenSoles. She collected used shoes and footwear and the NGO converted 2-4 old shoes and created 1 new footwear which was later donated to underprivileged children. This was a lesson in sustainability, reuse and recycle, reducing waste and also a social cause!

The Nature Club wouldn’t have been such a phenomenal success this year without the contribution and strong support of all our teachers. Under guidance and leadership of Mrs. Roberts and Mrs.Nigam, the club functioned smoothly and efficiently throughout the year. Ms. Shirke, Mrs. Patil, Mrs. Nilakantan, Ms. Fernandez, Mrs. Kapadia, Ms. Rane, Ms. Nivendkar, Ms. Billimoria, Ms. Talaviya and Ms. Dey accompanied and guided the students during the activities.

The active and enthusiastic Nature Club members committed their efforts to protect nature and take small steps towards a more environmentally-conscious and sustainable world made this year a success, capably led by Kush and Nyra.

Report written by – Kush Malpani, President and Nyra Jain, Secretary of Nature club