Dinesh Kamath's news 'Lessons on environment imparted to children of Navi Mumbai' that was published in Newsband

Lessons on environment imparted to children of Navi Mumbai

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: An attempt is being made to teach children of Navi Mumbai the importance of environment. To achieve this goal a programme called Mr Green has been initiated. Dr Aseem Gokarn is the brain behind this project.

A person who is associated with this project said, “Children need to be taught the importance of flora and fauna in the city. For this purpose they are being taught to create their own gardens. By doing this they come to know the value of plats. The children are made to go outdoors and study the greenery wherever it exists. Importance is given to both theory and practicals.”

Going into details, he said, “In our project we are laying stress on Environmental protection. Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the natural environment on individual, organizational or governmental levels, for the benefit of both the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and technology, the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently. This has been recognized, and governments have begun placing restraints on activities that cause environmental degradation. Since the 1960s, activity of environmental movements has created awareness of the various environmental issues. There is no agreement on the extent of the environmental impact of human activity, and protection measures are occasionally criticized.

Academic institutions now offer courses, such as environmental studies, environmental management and environmental engineering, that teach the history and methods of environment protection. Protection of the environment is needed due to various human activities. Waste production, air pollution, and loss of biodiversity (resulting from the introduction of invasive species and species extinction) are some of the issues related to environmental protection. Environmental protection is influenced by three interwoven factors: environmental legislation, ethics and education. Each of these factors plays its part in influencing national-level environmental decisions and personal-level environmental values and behaviors. For environmental protection to become a reality, it is important for societies to develop each of these areas that, together, will inform and drive environmental decisions. So these are the things we are trying to impart to the children of Navi Mumbai.”