SCHOOL-BASED ACTIVITY (GO GREEN)

School Based activity is an essential component of our education programme. Apart from classroom teaching, a teacher is also responsible for a number of scholastic and co-scholastic activities of the school School-based activities will help the teacher to give real-world experiences to the children and help them understand various social and cultural scenarios These activities are intended to complement the academic curriculum, promote social interactions, develop skills and ensure the overall development the individual these activities equip a student to prepare for life. Thus, school-based activities are an important and integral part of school curriculum. there activities will eventually help a student to grow as a responsible social being with various skills like leadership, creativity adaptability and empathy.

As we stand on brink of the detrimental effects caused by climate change, which in turn is caused by the increase in deforestation, the role of individuals and community in combating the same is the need of the hour. We the dedicated teacher trainees of Govt College of Teacher Education, Thycaud conducted an awareness talk, slogan writing competition and plant a tree campaign at Govt Model Boys HSS. The programme was titled "Go- Green" and it was conducted as s part of the school based activity laid out in the B.Ed. curriculum. The students were informed beforehand, regarding the same and it was conducted on February 1, 2024 at Govt Model Boys HSS from 11 to 11:40am. The students of 8C where chosen for all the thew activities. The entire programme was organised under the aegis of nine student teacher Ms. Jessy M, Ms. Chinju. S Nair, Ms. Devika PS, Ms. Anakha P. Ajay, Ms. Sandya, Ms. Anupama, Ms. Remya, Ms. Sudheera and Sister Liji. Ms. Asha Krishnan, Assistant Professor, psychology department acted as the programme convenor and Ms. Jessy of English Department acted as the student coordinator. 

Thinking And Acting

The procedure of the school-based activity "Go- Green" began with a talk or a small awareness class about the harmful effects of deforestation. It was titled "Rethinking the future". As the name suggested the teacher trainees were able to create a panic among the students about the harmful and dangerous situation of the earth in the near future which in turn  made the students rethink about the numerous practices they follow, knowingly and unknowingly which harm the environment with the help of power point slides the trainees succeeded in creating and inspiring a positive change in the mind of the students we were able to understand that even though many students knew about deforestation, they didn't even consider it as a need to plant trees. Moreover, the awareness talk made them more vigilant about the aftereffects of deforestation like soil erosion, land slide, climate change and so on. One student in the class opened a poem in his English textbook which depicted the theme of deforestation. In order to ensure student participation, the class was divided into four groups and were asked to discuss and suggest some measures by which deforestation can be reduced, environment can be saved, and climate change can be prevented. The discussion turned out to be a platform for the pupils to evince their dreams for a sustainable environment and a world filled with greenery.

As the second part of the activity, we organized a slogan writing competition to stop deforestation. The topic served as a catalyst for the creative and critical thinking of the students, and it urged them to transcend the bounds of the monotonous school periods. The competition gave the students an opportunity to express themselves by raising their voice for the future. Some students wrote the slogan in Malayalam while some others wrote it in English. As the clock ticked, powerful slogans danced on the papers, each word telling a story of the urge to conserve and protect nature and natural resources. Many children even drew pictures indicating the need to stop deforestation. The student teachers collected all the slogans after the allotted lime and Ms. Jessy briefed the students about the third part of the activity. 

The third and final part of the activity titled "Green Belt" is an initiative and a humble effort from the part of the student teachers to be a part of a solution this part also act as a model and motivation to the students to do the same again in the school and in their houses. this activity of planting trees and creating a green belt urged the students to take a stand for our planet and inspired them to make a positive change in the community. The air was charged with anticipation as the aspiring teaches had to guide the students out of their classroom to the place where we decided to plant the trees. Laughter and shared enthusiasm created a vibrant atmosphere, breaking down the barren between teacher trainees and students. This fostered a sense of camaraderie that, transcended the traditional classroom setting the enthusiasm of the students were much evident while they were walking. For the purpose of planting trees Ms. Chinju and Ms. Devika brought saplings from their houses The school-based activity also provided the teacher trainees to unite under the guidance of Ms. Sandhya who actively and effortlessly took three pits in the ground. Thus, Green belt helped in the co-operation of the teacher trainees and an air of relief surged in the atmosphere when we were finally able to lead the students to the previously prepared place to plant the trees, a mango tree, a jackfruit tree and a neem tree. The students and the teachers were immensely happy when they planted the first sapling. It was an incredibly rewarding and memorable experience for everyone involved. Together we planted all the three sappling and watered them. The act of making a positive impact on the environment and working together as a team was evident. Even though the students got their hands dirty, it allowed them to connect to nature in a meaningful way. 

Overall, the school-based activity especially taking the students outdoor to plant trees provided a valuable hands-on learning experience that fostered environmental awareness, teamwork, a sense of civic responsibility towards the natural world. It was an experience that sparked life long, appreciation for nature and a commitment to environmental sustainability.