Schoolkids get hands-on training on air pollution

NOIDA: Going beyond textbooks, the Gautam Budh Nagar division of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) on Wednesday started an initiative to encourage environment consciousness among students and provide them hands-on experience on how pollution levels are calibrated.

The programme was conducted by UPPCB officers at Father Agnel School in Greater Noida. UPPCB officers told TOI that it will now be taken to all schools in Noida and Greater Noida over the next few months. There are 182 private schools registered with the district administration.

During the training, mid- and senior-level students will be told about causes of air pollution, the ways to measure it, and how it can be mitigated. They will also be told how to use social media platforms to flag genuine environmental concerns to the department.

“We are currently drawing up a list of the first 50-60 schools where we will take the course. We have left the option open for schools to approach us to hold the workshop for their students,” Utsav Sharma, environment engineer at UPPCB, said.

“We trained students on how they can use social media platforms like Twitter to flag serious environment problems. Once students are sensitised towards environment-conscious living, they will highlight issues which can then be mitigated. So we want to make more children conscious so they can become partners in our drive to control pollution,” Sharma added.

The training comprises an informative session where the scientific officers ask the students about what they understand by air pollution. This is followed by an explanation of the parameters by which air pollution is calibrated. Students are shown the machines and tools with which pollution levels are measured. Following this, they are explained the health hazards associated with pollution, and told how they can step forward to control it at the source.

“Air pollution in the area is one of our biggest challenges. While most schools already have environment-related education in some form, we started this programme to help students become proficient in technical knowledge of the causes and impact of pollution control,” Singh added.

However, the training is an additional initiative and not part of any curriculum, he clarified.

“The future citizens of the two cities have to take ownership for the environment they are going to live in, so this initiative has been introduced with a long-term perspective in mind,” Singh further said.

Source : The Times of India