The programme aims at involving children as the prime motivators, to catalyse community participation and nurture a sense of responsible citizenship among the people of Delhi.

DEAN took its roots in a network of five schools with 50 students. From the very initial stages, when the students monitored the quality of water, there was a tangible enhancement in their analytical and communication skills. The process of monitoring also meant that the students interacted with the local communities, various authorities and questioning them about the deteriorating quality of the environment.

By the end of 1997, DEAN expanded its reach to cover 10 schools with more than 600 students participating in the programme. By this time students had established about 130 monitoring stations all over Delhi for regular water quality checks of ground water, water supplied by the municipal corporation and surface water. A gradual restlessness and impatience began to grow in the students as they wanted to initiate the action phase. Prior to initiating the action phase, it was decided to organise a two-day DEAN Mela.

The DEAN Mela was to provide a forum for students to:

q Demonstrate a variety of solutions for environmental improvement at the community level.

Planning for the DEAN Mela began six months prior to the final event. The Mela was the culmination of the efforts by students and teachers to project the findings of water quality monitoring.

The underlying theme of the Mela was Solutions to Pollution.

The DEAN Mela took place on January 16 and 17, 1998 at the National Stadium in New Delhi. Keeping in view the programme objectives, the event was designed to have three major components:
 

i) DEAN theme pavilion

With well illustrated panels, the DEAN theme pavilion was the medium through which students projected their involvement in the DEAN programme. Features shown in the theme pavilion were

ii) Solutions to pollution

Interesting and creative models were put up by schools, NGOs and government agencies. The themes selected by DEAN students varied from vermicomposting, water conservation and purification, air pollution, solar energy, biopesticides, environment friendly school to wealth from waste, which also included the demonstration of making paper from rags.

The student representatives at each stall briefed the audience about their models and further offered solutions for environmental improvement at the individual and community level. The innovativeness and creativity of the students became evident in some of the stalls where they had developed working models, games and quizzes which gave an element of fun to learning.

The NGOs which participated in the Mela were : Centre for Science and Environment, Vatavaran, Voluntary Health Association of India, Srishti, Centre for Environment Education and National Museum of Natural History.

The government agencies which participated were the Central Ground Water Board, Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi Water Supply and Sewage Disposal Board and Delhi Energy Development Authority.

An interesting highlight was that visitors brought water samples and tested their quality with the help of the Jal TARA kit, developed by Development Alternatives.
 

iii) Educational and creative activities

The other interesting features of the Mela included an environment quiz, a poster competition and a street play.

The environment quiz had a very enthusiastic participation from 37 schools. A written test was organised to select the five teams for the qualifying round. The first prize was an adventurous trip to Bandhavgarh National Park, sponsored by Tiger Resorts (P) Ltd, and saw the five teams pitting their brains to grab it.

The poster competition was organised on the theme ‘DELHI 2020’. The theme was selected to allow the future adults to express their dreams and vision for the city of the future. Almost 250 students participated in the competition. In a span of one hour the venue was filled with a riot of colours, expressing apprehension, fear, hope and positiveness.

A sure crowd puller in the Mela was the street play performed by the students of Naval Public School. A very well produced and equally well enacted play featured the environmental problems that we face in Delhi and also offered solutions for individuals.

The highlight of the second day was the public hearing. The public hearing was a display of child power. It included 10 presentations by students on the deteriorating environmental conditions of Delhi and their right to a cleaner and healthier environment. The issues addressed were pollution of air, water, noise, plastic, waste disposal and greening of Delhi.

The commissioners of the public hearing represented various agencies and senior citizens.
 

The Mela also provided us an opportunity to receive feedback on the programme. This will enable us to streamline the programme before we extend it to other states.

It is hoped that the efforts put in by schools, and the experience gained from the Mela will be utilised by students in future to create environmental awareness. Similar Melas, conducted on a smaller scale in each school, for instance, would assist in spreading the message of DEAN to different areas of Delhi.
 

The next phase of DEAN will lay emphasis on the establishment of DEAN partners, consisting of resident welfare associations, industry associations and NGOs. This network will help to initiate the action programmes for environmental improvement. Similar Melas will be organised in different cities under the aegis of CLEAN in partnership with local NGOs.