Region’s premier biodiversity conservation organisation Aaranyak jointly with Samagra Shiksha Axom (SSA) and National Science Centre, Guwahati, with support from Wipro earthian successfully conducted a day-long orientation training of teachers on sustainability education recently.
The event was held at the National Science Centre, Guwahati, where 69 teachers representing 44 schools from the Kamrup Metropolitan district actively participated, undeterred by severe waterlogging and other weather-related challenges in the city.
In today’s environmental situation, the importance of environment and sustainability education has become more significant than ever. Efforts have been made globally on Education for Sustainable Development to empowers people with the knowledge, skills, values, behaviour and attitudes to change the way they think and act towards a sustainable future through participatory teaching and learning methods.
Speaking at the event, Tapasi Sarma, District Programme Officer, SSA, Kamrup Metro, emphasized the importance of instilling sustainability practices in students. She also lauded the accomplishments of students and teachers who represented Assam at the national sustainability event held in Bangalore and acknowledged Aaranyak’s vital contributions to promoting environmental education. Ms. Sarma further highlighted the initiatives of the Eco Club for Mission LiFE and encouraged greater participation in achieving the nation’s sustainability objectives.
Sujay Majumder, Director of the National Science Centre Guwahati emphasized the importance of science education and shared information about the centre’s facilities. He appealed to schools to engage more actively with the centre’s evolving galleries, highlighting their value as experiential learning spaces for students.
In the welcome address, Jayanta Kumar Pathak, Senior Manager at Aaranyak, provided an overview of the organization and discussed the positive impact of this educational initiative on participating students. He also acknowledged the encouragement received from the Education Minister of Assam for the sustainability initiative. Mr. Pathak announced that the environment education Division of Aaranyak plans to offer mentoring support from subject experts this year, if schools wish to avail the opportunity.
The Wipro earthian prize money was ceremonially distributed to teachers and students to the National Award and Regional Award-winning schools: North Guwahati Girls High School, New Guwahati Adarsha High School, Maharishi Vidya Mandir-III and Natun Fatasil Town High School. The insights and experiences shared by both national and regional award-winning teams in sustainability education were truly commendable.
Tikendrajit Gogoi, Project Officer (ESE Educator) at Aaranyak’s Environmental Education and Capacity Building Division, interacted with teachers through an insightful presentation on sustainability education, focusing particularly on biodiversity, water and waste. Last year’s guide teachers, Binita Barman Dutt of New Guwahati Adarsha High School; Dulumani Rabha of North Guwahati Girls High School; and Ms. Jumpa Dutta of Maharishi Vidya Mandir-III also shared their enriching experiences with the initiative. They highlighted how students’ learning skills improved significantly after participating in the national-level competition. The students form the award-winning teams also shared their invaluable learnings and experiences.
The orientation served as a platform for learning, sharing and strengthening collaboration among educators. It also reinforced the idea that sustainability education must be an integral part of school curriculum shaping young minds to become environmentally conscious and socially responsible citizens.
