To make students aware of the most damaging effects of climate change that they need to cope with soon, Tata Steel and TERI are launching the Green School Project in Odisha.

Tata Steel, in association with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), has launched ‘The Green School Project’, an initiative to create awareness about environmental issues in school campuses in Odisha’s Jajpur district, said an official.

About the Green School Project workshop

Tata Steel has started the first series of workshops for the students at their Sukinda Chromite Mine (SCM) in Jajpur under the Green School Project. The workshop will run till September 23 in all identified schools across raw material locations of Tata Steel.

Speaking on the occasion, M C Thomas, Tata Steel’s Executive-in-Charge, Ferro Alloys and Minerals Division, said the project promotes environmental stewardship in identified schools through classroom and outdoor activities to improve critical, interdisciplinary and holistic thinking.

Objective: Create climate change awareness among students

The overall objective of the project is to create awareness among the students about climate change, and how sustainable lifestyle can help them to cope with the adverse impact of climate change, he added.

‘Be Ecomatic – Eco-friendly intuitively’ is a week-long workshop aimed at raising awareness among the students on the environment in general and conservation of resources in particular. This unique programme goes beyond promoting awareness by encouraging the schools to act.

Emphasis on students of classes 6 to 8

The project will encompass year-round activities related to the environment in schools for 15 months where the “whole school” approach is being adopted with emphasis on students of classes 6 to 8 in the formal schools for capacity-building initiatives.

This is the second launch by Tata Steel in its mining location. The first launch was at Joda in April 2017.

Apart from the teachers and students of the identified schools in and around Sukinda, the workshop was also attended by Rajesh Patel, who is SCM’s Chief of Mining in Tata Steel, and Shruti Agarwal, who is Senior Manager of Regulatory Affairs in Tata Steel.