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Environment Award – 2016

The Department of Science Technology and Environment, Govt. of Puducherry, confers the “Environment Award – 2016” for the individual category to Ms. Golda Edwin, founder member of APSCC, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the environment and to the public during the years 2013-15.  The award was presented by the Honorable Chief Minister of Puducherry during the Independence Day event. The award was a recognition of her role as a teacher, environmentalist and researcher for the past 15 plus years with a fundamental goal of fostering Environmental Awareness and Sustainable Development. She is also the co-founder of APSCC and has initiated the ‘Green Campus Program’ emphasizing more on the field level work and activity based learning at school and college campuses of Puducherry and beyond.
With the collaboration of Pondicherry University, DST&E and  Pollution Control Department, she is also promoting this to all the schools and colleges as ‘Green Campus Initiative Cooperative Movement’ to bring about a speedy transition of students attitudes towards environmental sustainability and foster sustainable development of the region. Some of her works pertain to the advancement of environmental education by implementing tailor made programs which encompasses Air, Water, Soil, Energy, Ecology & Biodiversity, Food & Natural Resources and Disaster management.

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Event Media

Green Campus Champion Award

The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Alumni Association (JANVAA) honored the APSCC founders for promoting ‘green campus’ strategies. The school’s concept of a green campus advocates a model for global environmental sustainability where all the processes and operational functions of the campus are closely knit, providing educational and practical value to the institution and the surrounding environment.

The team helped introduce measures such as waste water treatment system, xeriscape, biogas generation, compost and vermicompost production, organic vegetable garden and organic herbal garden in an integrated manner. According to school authorities, since the inception of the green campus initiative (GCI), the school has bagged various awards at the national and State-level. Moreover, the school has hosted eminent professionals and scientists from US, Europe, Brazil and from various parts of India whose visits motivated students to embrace environmental sustainability.

Vinayathan, school Principal, said since adopting green campus initiatives, the environmental awareness among the students and their attitude towards conservation has significantly increased.

Link: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/puducherry/two-researchers-honoured-for-promoting-green-campus-strategies/article7994833.ece

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VIT bags award at the Green Campus Summit

VIT University, Vellore, has bagged the Campus Challenge 2013 Award conferred by the Association for Promoting Sustainability in Campuses and Communities (APSCC).

VIT vice-president Sankar Viswanathan received the award from the Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy at a function held in the Union Territory recently.

According to a VIT release, APSCC is a non-profit organization that provides knowledge and sustainable development to educational institutions and local communities in India.

It also offers resources, organizes events, conducts training sessions, and initiates and promotes sustainable solutions at grassroots level in collaboration with a network of eminent sustainability professionals.

The award was given to the VIT University in recognition of the extensive and pioneering work carried out by the University to promote sustainability and green campus strategies, the release stated.

Link 1: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/vit-bags-campus-challenge-award/article4601255.ece

Link 2: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/VIT-bags-award/speednewsbytopic/keyid-1633575.cms

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Look beyond campus greening: Chief Minister

Emphasizing the need for people to play an active role in increasing the green cover in Puducherry, Chief Minister N. Rangasamy said that educational institutions and industries often take steps to reduce the waste produced on their campus and increase the green cover, but these institutions need to look beyond their own campuses and help improve the surroundings as well.

“Rather than looking only to the government to implement projects that would improve the environment, educational institutions, industries and the common man also need to take initiatives and realize that they have a role to play,” he said speaking at the Green Campus Summit 2013 here on Thursday.

In the past few years, there has been a significant reduction in the green cover and an increase in pollution. It is extremely important that schools and colleges have a green cover. Given the decrease, it is very important that Puducherry take steps to increase the number of trees in the town area, he added.

In terms of water pollution, he said there were several industries in the UT and that, of late, there had been complaints of poor water quality because of water pollution. Industries need to ensure that they do not pollute the water any further, he said.

Speaking at the function, Vice Chancellor of Pondicherry University Chandra Krishnamurthy said it was the duty of universities and educational institutions to ensure that they bring down their wastage to zero. They all need to use renewable and reusable energy to ensure that they maintain a clean and green environment, she said.

The two-day summit featured speakers from fifty countries around the world and will provide universities and higher educational institutions a platform to present their work on campus greening. During the function, educational institutions were given awards for their green innovations, a release said.

The Green Campus Summit was jointly organized by APSCC, Pondicherry University, Government of Puducherry, Puducherry Pollution Control Committee, the London Metropolitan University and the Hamburg University of Applied Science.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/look-beyond-campus-greening-chief-minister/article4583731.ece

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Clarion call to protect green cover

Exhorting industries and educational institutions to play a leading role in environmental protection, former Chief Minister N Rangasamy said people should look at their neighborhood also while taking steps for maintaining environment on their premises.

Delivering the presidential address at the Green Campus Summit 2013 here on Thursday, he said people should not look at government alone for delivering everything. The CM said the region has lost majority of its green cover during Cyclone Thane and efforts are being made to recover it.

Vice-chancellor Prof Chandra Krishnamurthy said Pondicherry University is looking at methods to reduce the damage caused to the environment. She said educational institutions like Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya have achieved zero wastage to protect its premises from environmental damages.

K Lakshminarayanan, MLA, and Minister T Thiyagarajan were also present.

Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/article1530734.ece