By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 22 Apr: Our planet is an amazing place, but it needs our help to thrive! That’s why each year on April 22, more than a billion people celebrate Earth Day to protect the planet from various environmental issues. The theme for Earth day 2023 is “Invest in Our Planet”. It was in continuation of the successful 2022 campaign. With this theme, The Nature Club ”Prakriti” in collaboration with Ministry of Earth Sciences celebrated ‘Earth Day-2023’ by organizing various events to spread awareness for environmental protection. This was a 2- day event i.e. (21-04-2023 – 22-04-2023) wherein various activities took place. The event included activities like: Poster making, Slogan writing, Treasure hunt, Inter-school quiz, Cycle Rally, Human Chain & Plantation Drive.
Prof Surekha Danwal, the Vice Chancellor in her message appreciated the efforts of Prakriti, the Nature Club in sensitising the students by organising various activities to mark the occasion. She said that the new generation must learn from the time-honored wisdom, knowledge and leadership of traditional Indigenous Peoples, whose environmental stewardship stretches back millennia, and who hold many of the solutions to the world’s climate and biodiversity crises. Prof Kusum Arunachalam, Head, SENR in her welcome address emphasized that in order to have a sustainable future we have to give top priority to Ecology among the three pillars of sustainability. She said that a sound and healthy Environment will support a healthy society and the economy will ultimately thrive. The Key note speaker of the event was Prof JK Sharma, Dean, Department of Environment Science and Engineering, Shiv Nadar University and former Director KFRI, Kerala. Prof Sharma highlighted the importance of biodiversity and its role in keeping the mother earth healthy. He shared his experience of creating themes based biodiversity park at Shivnadar University and Kerala Forest Research Institute with the faculty and students and urged that the students must take individual steps to keep their campuses green and clean. Vijay Sridhar, the convener of the programme proposed the vote of thanks on the occasion. The second day of the event started with a plantation drive in the campus. The host and nectar plants which could attract the butterflies were planted in the area earmarked for developing a Butterfly garden in the University campus. The plantation drive was followed by the Cycle Rally and Human chain till Bengali Kothi area for spreading the awareness among the residents for the protection of mother earth and reducing their carbon footprint.
The NCC cadets and Doon University Student Council extended their support to the Earth Day Progemme. Dr Archana Sharma, Dr Achlesh, Dr Vipin Saini, Dr Himani, Dr Charu, Dr Ravi and large no of NCC cadets and Prakriti Club members participated in the event.
