Back to the grassroots

The Auroville Botanical Garden, situated on the main road near Edaiyachavady, was established in August 2000. In issue 335-336 of June-July 2017, Auroville Today reported on the Garden’s national outreach projects. In this article, we focus on the Garden’s educational programmes.

How the programmes started.

The Garden first focused on ten schools in the local area that had a good reputation and proactive teachers known for their interest in the environment. Arrangements were made for the teachers to attend an induction programme. “We explained what we do and what we wanted to do and the importance of this programme,” says Satyamurthy, one of the teachers of the Garden. The proposal was accepted. The teachers returned with their students and participated in the planned activities, recording their students’ experiences and taking photos.

They then assisted Satyamurthy to write a feedback report for the Chief Education Officer of the Tamil Nadu Education Department. They were granted permission to invite more schools.

Now, over 3,000 students a year are experiencing the Garden’s Education Programmes. A total of 120 government elementary schools are involved in the project: 70 schools in the Villupuram district, 20 in the Cuddalore district and 30 in Pondicherry.

Asked how they organised such a large number of schools to participate in the educational programmes, Satyamurthy explains that it is due to an informal teacher’s network cooperative. “There are two to three teachers from each school who fully support our mission. Now I can share a message or an important letter by giving it to only one school. Those few teachers then assist me with the task of sharing the information about upcoming meetings and camps with the other schools in their district. This has made my job a lot easier.”

What is the main aim of the project?

The educational concept is quite simple. Satyamurthy and his team wish to raise awareness about the local environment. He says, “The students know about the kind of wild animals that can be found in the villages and houses, , but they know nothing about their habitats. The students want to learn about their habits and to understand how each insect and animal are interrelated.

“They also love to hear about the food chain: that a rat snake that lives near their house is not a danger to them, but that it protects their habitat by eating the rats and frogs and the scorpions that they fear. We teach them that if all the snakes are killed, then the other pests and vermin will increase.

“We also teach the difference between venomous and non-venomous. Snakes have the right to live with us without feeling threatened by humans.”

Auroville 50th Anniversary Green School Project

At the occasion of Auroville’s 50th anniversary, 50 schools have been chosen to be gifted ten trees of approximately eight-feet high. The Garden will install them in the school compound and fence them with quality steel mesh to protect them from the goats and cows. So far, 20 school campuses have been completed and the other 30 are planned to be commenced after the summer holidays.

The teachers and students are providing for the aftercare of the trees.

The impact

Satyamurthy and Kamatchi, another Garden teacher, say that the programmes show good results. “Many schools use less waste. The children are collecting waste paper and plastic to sell for recycling. They even clean up their school after public functions and make sure the campus stays unpolluted,” says Kamatchi.

Many students, when they have a birthday celebration, give only fruits and local produce. They have stopped distributing packaged chocolates and other company products. “One day a teacher told me that an underprivileged family had sent their child to school on its birthday with 20 rupees. The class decided, instead of buying sweets, to buy ten bananas and cut each one into three pieces. The plate was then shared between all 30 students in the class,” says Satyamurthy.

Many students take home the valuable environmentally-friendly practices they share. They have learned that vinegar and curd water and dosama kira can be used to clean the toilet. They have been taught how to prepare their own Effective Micro Organism (EM), and use Naturepest, a herbal extraction, to spray on the plants, instead of chemicals. Even tips on how to keep ants at bay without using toxic chemical sprays and chalks now reach the homes of families who have long forgotten their ancestral solution of using salt and turmeric.

Satyamurthy mentions that every year in March, he is inundated with invitations to attend the schools’ Annual Day celebrations. Officials, teachers, students, parents and village elders congratulate and honour him and his team for their commitment and hard work to help nurture their children.