naturecamp

The State Environment Department and the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) have organised a nature study camp at Sukna Campus of Wildlife Division-I on and from on and from June 6 to June 8, 2004. The Camp will be inaugurated at Sukna Campus of Wildlife Division-I of Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Department of Forest, Government of West Bengal, on June 6, 2004 at 4:00 p.m.

Under the theme "Nature, Natural Resource, Environment And Society" of the Environmental Campaign of the WBPCB, this nature camp is being conducted as an awareness programme, conceived for the protection of environment, forests and wildlife. Paschimbanga Vigyan Mancha is the key collaborator of the programme. The students of classes V to XII of the eco-clubs of the schools belonging to the National Green Corps (NGC) programme and other schools of West Bengal are the participants in the nature camp.

The National Green Corps (NGC) programme introduced by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India is aimed at spreading environmental education among school children by involving them in various environment-related activities. While the WBPCB is the State Nodal Agency, Paschim Banga Vigyan Mancha is the Implementing Agency for the NGC programme. Under the NGC programme, there are 1900 schools in 19 districts of the state including Kolkata, in which eco-clubs has been formed.

The eco-clubs of the participating schools of the different districts of the state had conducted various individual and group events since August 2003. The nature camp coming as a reward for the winners of the events conducted during the past months, would not only cultivate a sense of caring and appreciation for the environment, but also help inculcate a sense of environmental responsibility at a tender age. The four individual events are Sit and Draw Competition, Making Posters with a Slogan, Essay Writing Competition and Project Preparation and the four group events are Nature Quest, Medicinal Plant Garden, Biodiversity and Eco-club Diary. These events, as described in the table below, were implemented within stipulated deadlines.

INDIVIDUAL EVENTS	GROUP EVENTS
Sit and Draw Competition for classes V to VII *Theme*: Nature and wildlife	*Nature Quest*: Preparing an assessment report on the Environmental Status of the local area
Poster with slogan for classes VIII to X *Theme*: Environmental protection and pollution control	*Medicinal Plant Garden*: Planting a garden and preparing an illustrative report on the same
Essay writing Competition for classes VIII to X *Theme*: The future of the earth and water	*Biodiversity Inventory: Preparing a report on the diversity of plants and wildlife in the local area*
Project Preparation for classes XI to XII *Theme*: Preparation of a project for water conservation with your views as a scientist	*Eco-club Diary*: Annual report of the eco-club

About 50 school students and teachers from six northern districts of the state would be the participants of the Sukna camp. The district-level toppers of the four individual events, and, the candidates securing the first, second and third positions for the individual events and the top group (for the group events) at the state level would be the prime participants.

PRESS RELEASE As on 06.06.2004 Environmental Campaign: Nature Camp at Sukna Wildlife Division-I

PRESS RELEASE
As on 06.06.2004
Environmental Campaign: Nature Camp at Sukna Wildlife Division-I