Did you know that you can live and help others live a life without taking more than what is necessary from Nature? That you can reduce environmental degradation easily? All it needs is the heart to make a change.

Helping individuals, schools, societies and corporates make an attempt to live a carbon-neutral life is the Vision Carbon Neutral programme, started by CII-Young Indians, Coimbatore chapter, and the Forest College Research Institute.

“We look at the issue as individual and institutional segments. We help transform people and institutions from environmentally not responsible to responsible through awareness programmes and inclusive education,” says Manoj Rajagopal, Chair-Environment, Young Indians.

This awareness includes everything from identifying poisonous and non-poisonous snakes (Tip: poisonous snakes have bulky heads and blunt tails; non-venomous snakes have narrow heads and pointed tails). The group has tied up with the National Snake Bite Initiative to spread awareness in schools.

“We all use up a lot of Nature’s resources. From the food we eat and the things we buy to the places we travel to and the fuel we use up, there’s a lot that we can control. Each one has a unique carbon load, and we have set procedures to estimate it so that we know what to do to reduce or neutralize it,” says Manoj.

The first thing the team does is plant 500 saplings before they start their survey to arrive at the correct solution. They have equipment that can estimate the carbon absorbed and emitted by a person/institution. “We also conduct classes for teachers and students. We plan to take this to about a thousand institutions across the country,” he says. About 10 educational institutions, including K’Sirs, Jayendra Saraswathi group of schools, Western Ghats International School, Park Global School, Sasi School of Architecture are part of it.

Every institution has a vermicomposting system and has reduced waste, recycled and reused it. Any excess paper is added to straw to cultivate mushrooms. Children are also taken to wetlands and go birding and jungle strolling.

Next up, the group is to plant 5000 saplings in the Palamalai temple complex using the Miyawaki technique. Helping them in this effort is Pricol and the Tamil Nadu Forest Department.

“We are waiting to do more. If anyone has the space and water supply, we are willing to set up a Miyawaki grove for them. It will soon become a beautiful, beneficial shola.”

For details, call 98431-33312.