Higher!” Shruti yelled. She was on a swing and Vanitha was pushing her. The swing was suspended from a huge tree and Shruti could see the sunlit branches and the clouds as she felt the wind rush through her hair. It felt heavenly.
Vanitha shared her delight and pushed harder.

Stop! Stop!” Shruthi shouted suddenly. Vanitha tried to slow down the swing.

What happened?” she asked, alarmed.

The snail!”

The snail?” Vanitha asked. What are you talking about?”

I have two hours left to colour our snail. Hurry!” And Shruti jumped off the swing.

Our Environment Club has a big striped snail on the wall, with a stripe for each person,” she explained. We can colour in the stripe when we have come up with a new idea to be environment-friendly. And my stripe is the only one that is still uncoloured!”

Vanitha laughed. Ill help you. Come home, lets browse the internet

They found many great ideas on the internet, but as Shruthi pointed out, they were not new.

Then they tried pulling out books from Vanithas collection. Again, they found ideas that were common.

I just have to find something,” Shruthi said, looking at her watch anxiously. There were just ten minutes to go. Vanitha sighed. They had discussed atleast 30 ideas, but nothing sounded novel.

Hey!” Shruthi almost jumped out of the chair. The swing!”

She stood up. Isnt it a good way to be environment-friendly? It can be made with a wooden plank and jute rope, and tied to a tree. It keeps you close to nature, and uses no plastic, and doesnt drain natural resources. It should be promoted!”

Vanitha grinned. Great idea!”

Of course its not a new idea, but people dont regard it as a substitute for other toys and games that are not envi-ronment-friendly,” Shruthi added.
Ten minutes later, Shruthi proudly walked up to the snail in the Environment Club, and coloured her stripe a bright pink. She had thought of a special idea! The others thought it was a great one, and they even planned to install a swing for the Environment Clubbers!

-Nisha Daniel

Teacher’s Corner:

Set aside a day as Colour Day. On this day, each student in the class can choose his/her favourite colour and focus on it.

Each one can wear an outfit of their chosen colour to class. Her snack box, bag and stationery can match. The student can give a one-minute talk on his favourite colour — facts, details and trivia relating to the colour. One can wear unusual colors like gold, silver or bronze too.

The teacher must be a part of the celebration. You can even bring sweets of your favourite colour for everyone!