Environmental Initiatives

The D20 event at DAIS was a mock G20 summit that focused on sustainability. It featured three committees: The Environmental Committee, The Funding Committee, and the Sherpa Meeting. This initiative allowed students to engage in role-playing as world leaders and policymakers, tasked with developing and presenting proposals aimed at fostering a sustainable future. The intense discussions led to the generation of constructive resolutions, reflecting the depth of thought and commitment of the students towards addressing global environmental challenges. The format of the summit not only provided a platform for students to express their ideas but also helped them understand the complexities of international diplomacy and cooperative efforts required for sustainable development.

Overarching Objective of D 20: ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• Bridging the gap between MEDCs and LEDCs in the context of sustainable development - tackled by the funding committee.
• Reducing carbon emissions - tackled by the environmental committee. Policies for these goals will be drafted by delegates of the finance and environment committee, and deliberated upon during committee sessions. The ones that get approval from a majority of the committee appears in the final declaration.

The Earth Day celebrations were highlighted by the live singing of the songs composed and written by students of grade 9, "We want Earth to be happier" & "A better place, our home's revived". These musical pieces captured the essence of conservation and respect for nature and served as a melodious reminder of our duty to care for the Earth. It was a collaborative effort, involving contributions from the music department and creative inputs from the students, making it a resonant start to the festivities. These songs were also played on the PA system throughout the Earth week.

As every year this year too Round Square students planned the activities to effectively convey the message to the DAIS student body. They designed age-appropriate activities for students of LKG to grade 9.

To engage the younger audience, an educational puppet show was organized aimed at making them understand the need for waste segregation, into Dry and Wet waste. teaching environmental responsibility in an interactive and engaging manner. The narrative showed the puppet characters facing various ecological challenges and working together to solve them, emphasizing teamwork and the importance of small actions in contributing to larger environmental goals.

Following the puppet show, the student volunteers had planned a game about recycling waste. This activity educated students about the correct ways to recycle different type of waste materials and the importance of reducing waste. The game involved sorting different types of waste into appropriately labelled recycling bins, there by teaching waste segregation in a fun way.

An innovative and visually impactful addition to the school was the creation of a Sustainable Green Wall. This wall was constructed using recycled plastic bottles as planters, filled with a variety of plants and flowers. It served as a live example of repurposing everyday items into beneficial uses, also adding a green aesthetic to the school environment.

A customized Jeopardy game was designed for the 5th graders, focusing on topics related to environmental science and sustainability. The game included categories like wildlife, recycling, energy sources, and young environmental activists. This interactive format was effective in reinforcing knowledge while keeping the students engaged and entertained.

The inaugural Sustainable Innovation Challenge at DAIS on April 27th, 2024, engaged students from grades 6 to 10 to innovate on the theme "Sustainability at Schools." The event began with a keynote from Ishaan Surve, founder of Praakruti, who introduced his eco-friendly DIY Figurine Kit and a bioremediation solution for oil spills. Participants presented a range of solutions from methane recovery systems to AI-driven waste reduction technologies to a panel that included government representatives. An impromptu activity further challenged students to devise real-time solutions for environmental issues identified during a school tour, showcasing their creativity and rapid problem-solving skills. To help develop the participants collaboration and time management skills, a surprise activity was also organised for them, they were divided into groups of 5 and led through a guided school tour. There they identified environmental problems on the spot and developed technology driven solutions within half an hour. The participants impressed everyone with their out of the box solutions, from developing an interactive dashboard providing the school information and raising awareness of the large number of items never recovered from the lost and found to installing aerators and a sensor based system to reduce unnecessary water loss from taps.

Here is a reflection from one of our participants about his experience of the event - "I gained a lot of skills like Critical thinking, we learnt how to think with different lenses and how to overcome issues. It also helped our communication skills. We presented to a wide audience, including esteemed dignitaries from Himachal Pradesh. It helped us develop our idea greatly and look at things from the audience's perspective. To be honest, this was a fun and interactive learning experience which I will always treasure. I hope this can develop into another global, ground-breaking, round-square DAIS event this school is famous for."

To bring about a tangible impact, we introduced eco-bricking. An eco-brick is "a plastic bottle densely packed with used plastic to create a reusable building block that achieves plastic sequestration". During Earth Week, student volunteers went into classes of grades 1-9 and demonstrated how to make eco-bricks, urging all students to contribute by using plastic waste at home to make eco-bricks. To guide students in making their own eco-bricks, our students created a demo video which was sent to parents as part of the circular seeking their support for this initiative. In the following weeks, these bricks will be collected from students and used to create an eco-brick structure of our very own. The structure will act as a symbol of the important problem that is plastic pollution and a reminder to follow the 3Rs in our daily lives.

The graffiti banner was a school-wide pledge to reduce and recycle plastic. First, our LKG and UKG students made their mark as their handprints created the border of the graffiti wall. These borders were filled in by fingerprints added by our ICSE and IGCSE senior school students while the messages and pledges were made by our Middle and Primary school students. The entire school came together and made a promise as a community - to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic.

For the finale of Earth Week, students organised a football match. Team Plastic and Team Earth competed against each other and were cheered on by their peers. During half-time, the cheerleaders conveyed the message to 'Reimagine Plastic' through a flash mob dance! With a riveting game and an exciting halftime show, the event was the spectacle that tied in all the Earth Week initiatives that ended in a magnificent fashion. Even though the close game was eventually won by Team Plastic, the message of how we need to step up to protect Mother Earth from plastic pollution was clear and evident.

All in all, Earth Week 2023 took a far different approach to spreading the word of environmentalism by taking action and focusing on building on the students' subconscious to save our planet.

Portrayed through characters representing the Earth, Ozone layer, Corona virus, Mangroves, and humans, the actors sent out a strong message on how collective action can bring about changes that can help arrest the negative effects of climate change. Senior student leaders Sriya Bodapati and Dhruv Bhalla addressed the assembly and reiterated the importance of taking care of limited natural resources and stressed upon the need for wastepaper management, the theme of the year.

Throughout the week student volunteers from grades 7, 8A and Yr 11 visited classrooms and carried out an awareness building program. They visited every class from LKG to grade 8 and conducted sessions, discussions and activities engaging every child in understanding the need for action. The sessions included showing of an informative video followed by age appropriately designed activities and discussions highlighting the need for action.

The students discussed how it was possible, with small lifestyle changes to make a significant impact in combating climate change. The topics covered were impact of human action on climate change, environment stewardship, need for individual action and participation the DAIS wastepaper management initiative. Students' groups produced practical, creative, and innovative ideas and solutions about wastepaper management and reducing the use of paper in school as well as at home. Some of these ideas included using paper made from alternate sustainable materials such as elephant dung, sugarcane pulp, using empty pages of old notebooks, making note pads from loose sheets and many such ideas.

Student volunteers used their break time to reach out to the teachers and staff of the school and communicate to them the need to get involved. They went to faculty rooms and rapped a song about using paper judiciously as well as save electricity by turning off electrical off the lights and air con when not in use. The whole school engaged with the Earth Day theme in various forms of expressions, through Art, Music, Dance as well as continued related activities in class. Songs about recycling, garbage segregation, conservation of resources were taught in, music class, while in the art classes students worked with recycled paper and created papier mache artwork.

Collection Boxes: To facilitate the collection of the wastepaper students painted and decorated boxes that were placed in all classrooms, faculty rooms and printer points. Students were were guided to deposit paper that can be reused and recycled.

An overall, successful initiative that made students and teachers feel responsible for the environemnt and make changes to go green!

The students of the senior school explored sustainability through invigorating discussions on the UNSDGs (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals) and how they would incorporate the spirit of Environmentalism through sustainable action. The students worked collaboratively on making videos for Earth day by writing lyrics, composing music, singing and creatively expressing the need to protect our environment.

In order to raise awareness about the compelling need for appropriate waste disposal, the school invited keynote speakers from two NGOs - Mrs. Rintu Rathod from the Food Army, who spoke about plastic pollution and Mr. Ashish Pandey from Ecoreco who shared the issues arising due to E- wastes. The speakers detailed the cause of the issue, how their organization was attempting to tackle it and how students play a key role in spreading awareness on the hazards of these kinds of pollution and wastes.

As a concluding session of Earth Week, DAIS and the SAI International School collaboratively hosted the "Power of One Summit", a two day virtual event, on the 23rd and 24th April, 2021. Aimed at raising awareness about the power of every individual in safeguarding the Earth and practicing sustainability, this event was led by students of Grades 10 and 11 from both the partner schools. It was attended by over 24 schools from the South Asia and Gulf Region, and included around 150 participants.

For the Round Square Student Body, this experience was unforgettable. They worked with teachers and students across the school and subjects. They planned and executed a range of activities across all the levels of the school with the aim of spreading awareness on the theme of sustainability creating fun yet novel experiences.

They were successful in inculcating the value of nurturing the planet among their juniors by overcoming all the challenges faced on the online platform of learning. The Student Body, along with the endless guidance and support of Miss Manisha and Miss Pratima worked tirelessly to make this event a success.

"Just having the opportunity to plan something for the entire school was amazing. Brainstorming activities from Class UKG to Class 11 took a lot of effort, but was so much fun. It was a great way to see the entire school come together to celebrate Earth Day 2021."

- Rajveer Batra (RSSCC)

"It was an incredible experience to be able to work with and cater to students of all ages, and being able to spread the message of the importance of Earth Day in such a unique way was an amazing opportunity."

- Dhaniti Parekh

"Being able to plan and celebrate such an important event with students from across the school was a wonderful experience. Though our aim was to spread awareness about Earth Day and sustainability, we also learnt a lot through this process and were able to progress in becoming better-informed and sensitive citizens to meet the needs of the world today."

- Ananya Mittal

'It makes me immensely happy to think that we were able to impart knowledge about sustainability to our juniors and even happier to see their high levels of interest they had in the topic!'

'The best thing about Earth Week was seeing the enthusiasm among all the students.'

'My favourite part about Earth Week would most definitely be sharing my love and passion for the environment and wildlife with others!'

'Earth week provided a creative and exciting platform to discuss the pressing issues of environmental consciousness and sustainability, making it truly memorable!

Teachers/mentors: Ms. Manisha Nanda and Ms. Pratima Shridhar

Student-led team: Aanya Shahani, Arzoo Usgaonkar, Adit Kadakia, Ahaan Bhansali, Akaesha Negi Tandon, Avi Agarwal, Dev Mehta, Dhaniti Parekh, Eesha Bodapati, Kahaan Jain, Mehak Tiwana, Nainika Pansari, Prarthna Chabria, Prisha Mangat, Rajveer Batra, Saachi Jain, Shanaya Piramal, Stuti Daga, Tamanna Sanghvi

The students from the partner NGO – ‘Across the Road ‘, visited DAIS with a group of 18 students in the age group of 10-14. The students bonded with them and participated in the next two sessions that followed. The students from the NGO were bright enthusiastic, and shared common interests - reading and playing team games. The evening had a generous dose of fun and games; sporting activities like football, khokho and cricket. They were complimented by a game of antakshari. The song contest was made more lively and fun with the teachers joining in whole heartedly much to everyone’s delight. The experience was an enriching, enjoyable and memorable one. By evening, the students planned and performed at the cultural night – the theme was based on the learnings from the various sessions conducted that day. It proved to be a very lively, entertaining, amusing and enthralling evening, indeed. Following the performances, their Baraza leaders, cut a cake, to celebrate the RS FEST, which was followed by dinner. That was the end of a very enriching day.

The next morning students woke up to vibrant music on the schools PA system and were wide awake grooving to the music. They quickly freshened up and reached the auditorium for a fun and rigorous Yoga session.

This was followed by an interesting and motivational talk by the senior school students Nainika Pansari, Ishita Bagri and Tanvi Inani, who shared their experiences of making it to the EBC (Everest Base Camp). They highlighted the importance of good leadership skills and teamwork. As they rightly said, ”There is a leader within all of us - all we have to do is recognize that skill within us and hone it.” They told the students the importance of pushing their limits, getting out of their comfort zone- another key principle of Round Square.

The RS Fest gave them an exposure to the IDEALS of Round Square. It taught them an attitude of gratitude that is extremely important in everyone’s lives. Also, taking care of their environment is imperative to preserving their planet and their future. With a very heavy heart they bid good byes to their teachers and left for their homes – with new dreams, aspirations and new lessons learnt for a life time.