Practical guide to ecology literacyDr. R.N. PardiwalaSocieties the world over are beginning to appreciate that environment conservation is the ultimate raison d‚etre. Without clean air, fresh water and healthy food, survival ‚ or even enjoyment of prosperity ‚ is impossible; all other issues are subordinate to this imperative. Moreover there is a simultaneous awareness that only the educational system of a society can create the cultural and attitudinal changes required to ensure that future generations acquire the necessary skills to live sustainable lives in harmony with Mother Earth. Appropriately the United Nations has declared the forthcoming era ‚ 2005-2015 ‚ as a ‚ËœDecade of Education for Sustainable Development‚. In India, environment education is in its infancy. The subject has long been regarded an additional burden on an already dense curriculum, resulting in its reduction to the mere transmission of a collection of facts related to nature study and popularly known as environmental science. Largely pre-defined by syllabi and textbooks approved by education boards, environment education has been subjected to a dominant culture that requires mastery of printed facts. The great majority of schools when dealing with environment studies focus on ‚Ëœshort-term‚ scientific data and social trends rather than ‚Ëœlong-term‚ lifestyle changes, and approach issues related to environmental degradation as problems capable of being solved by technological interventions. However the grim reality is that mere technology cannot possibly solve environmental ills and a deeper commitment is needed to save our planet. A wealth of knowledge and perhaps more important, a host of practical skills are required to address this stupendous task. Students need to be taught how they, as individuals, can and must protect ‚ even upgrade ‚ their environment by assuming responsibility and becoming proactive, community-minded citizens. Curriculum integration starting from primary school is an important prerequisite of environment education. Currently school curriculums divide reality into what seems to children a maze of subjects disconnected from real life. However, environmental education is one of the few subjects that can overcome this fatal disconnectedness and serve as a link between subjects. For example, while studying art we need to maximise the use of scrap and substitute toxic materials such as lead-based paints with vegetable dyes to colour and paint. The stimulation of such awareness also encourages children to develop their own views and opinions on environment issues. However environment education can only succeed on a mass-scale if the concept of community-based learning becomes an essential part of academic cultures. One of the most important aspects of ecological literacy is developing a culture of work for and with the community. Children must be taught that building community partnerships, such as locality management groups, can make the hardest tasks simpler. Finally, to teach and impart the principles of eco-friendly learning across schools in India, it is imperative to improve teacher training courses by incorporating new modules like environment education so that the next generation of teachers is better equipped to teach the subject. The Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CERE), a Mumbai-based non-profit organisation, has (with the help of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust) recently developed a simple co-curricular project which incorporates the fundamentals of environmental education. Entitled, ‚ËœEstablishing plant nurseries in urban city schools‚ it helps schools start small, sustainable, student-run plant nurseries. This project has been adapted to the requirement of several school examination boards and has been successfully implemented over a period of one year in ICSE, SSC and municipal schools in Mumbai. The project envisages learning of practical skills through the simple exercise of nurturing plant life. Through hands-on experience ‚ working the soil, collecting seeds, plant cuttings and grafts, observing organisms and earthworms, and plant maladies, children learn important life skills such as team work, communication skills, creativity and decision making. Secondly, teachers have considerable leeway to integrate a number of subjects with this project. Its blueprint is a correlation of subjects such as science (methods of plant propagation, seed germination, types of seeds, seed dispersal, plant physiology, soil organisms); mathematics (ratio and probability of seed germination); arts-n-craft (bark rubbings, leaf prints, stained glass); history (important traditional cultures like the Bishnois); geography (map reading and orientation, ecosystems, climates in different regions of India and the world). As an extension of the project, school managements can simultaneously introduce in-house waste management practices such as vermiculture and composting schemes to make the school a ‚Ëœzero-garbage zone‚. Available feedback indicates that subjects connected with the plant nursery model have proved far more interesting for students following a shift from learning by rote to learning with creativity and fun in environments beyond the classroom.To a significant extent the plant nursery project has propagated the principles of environment education and has prompted school children to become responsible, caring citizens with an affinity for nature, concern for humanity and the ability to work together towards an ecologically sustainable world. This learning model has been successfully tried and tested in three schools in Mumbai. CERE would be happy to provide any school or teacher with reference material on how to introduce it in their schools. E-mail cere_india@yahoo.co.in for further information. (Dr. Rashneh N. Pardiwala is the founder director of Centre for Environmental Research and Education, Mumbai)