Yet, each day we are choking the river Yamuna - our main source of water, by dumping, filth, wastes from industries, pesticides from fields and garbage into it.

Days follow one after the other without any change and every morning most of us pick up the newspaper, to be accosted by similar news items on our polluted water supply and hope that ‘may be someone would do something about it’. Only to carry on with our lives as usual. I would put it down as ‘learned tolerance’.

But somewhere in my heart, I do believe in building bridges over troubled waters and believe me it takes very little to get started - just a little concern, a will to change things in our own small ways and the contagious enthusiasm of children which goes a long way. I also know that a bridge is necessary between the people and groups like ours and the formal authorities at all levels. Various national level NGOs, government ministries and departments at the state and local level should not only sponsor Water Monitoring projects and schemes but also work in conjunction with schools in the community and share their resources with the local children, raising their awareness and utilizing their talents.

Once we had taken the decision at school to take up water-monitoring as a part of our environment project on pollution, it was then that DEAN stepped in. We were provided a zone in Delhi to test and monitor the level of contamination of the MCD and ground water from sites in the vicinity of our school and nearby areas. It was a new experience for the children, not just to collect water samples but also to talk to the local residents and record the environmental conditions in these areas of monitoring. It helped them develop their social and interpersonal skills as they interacted with people from all walks of life and also helped develop their observational skills.

The second step was the chemical analysis of the water samples which honed their laboratory skills of handling equipment, precision, accuracy and scientific temper and, of course, the more important issues of developing skills in patience and overcoming hunger pangs!

The next step was to get back to DEAN with the collected data and analysis results where they verified the results and gave a feedback to the children. The information and data was then passed to the community for initiating changes at the local level.

Once the children tasted success, there was no going back - as the word spread no one wanted to be left out. All the students wanted to contribute and being naturally inquisitive they wanted to know more and do more. The next time we did the analysis, the number of participants in the programme had increased considerably!

From a teacher’s point of view, considering the logistics of the programme - I understand that most of us are a little hesitant - perhaps due to too much load of syllabus and too little time for integrating environment programmes in our curriculum. Sometimes the reluctance is there as we ourselves are products of an education system which was not interactive and may feel lost initially. It only takes a little resource and time management to start the programme.

At the culmination of the yearly programme, the students also get a chance to make presentations of the work done by them and our young environmentalists get a platform to share their ideas and make their voices heard and express themselves through songs, poems and skits based on environmental themes. DEAN also gives a Development Alternatives Rolling Trophy for maximum participation to keep up the motivation of our students. But I guess its the intangible rewards that they pick up which count most.

It is a joy to see students work with such enthusiasm. I have often heard people say we are losing our children to the influence of the West or should I say ‘ Western disturbances ‘! As I understand the problem, our children have so much of energy that it needs to be channelised in the right direction for which they seek our guidance. If we, as adults, could gently lead them back to the lost values like sensitivity to the environment, self reliance and help them to get in touch with their own power to heal the ailing environment and contribute as questioning and responsive citizens - they will positively do so.

We could help the children see that this is not just one afternoon of water analysis that they are doing but show them the larger picture and their part in elevating the issue of water pollution to create public awareness and make the community sit up and realize its own potential to deal with the problem and find its own tangible solution.

May be the next time you are engulfed by all the doubts and problems of how to take time out of your busy schedule to integrate an environment programme, I would request you to simply remind yourself that tiny little drops do make a mighty ocean and each one of us is an important link in conserving the environment. Students must join such programmes as they are not separate from the curriculum and they do help them experience the inter-relatedness of what they study and the real world.

In the near future, this is the shape our education system will take as more and more schools come forward to join hands with NGOs like Development Alternatives, WWF, CSE and many others who are working actively to develop integrated programmes to address the environmental issues that need our attention. I am sure if this ensues we would be able to bring about the changes in our society much faster - for there is no substitute for a hands-on experience for the child, to help him understand pollution and its effects and his own role in reducing it. We could only be successful in conserving our environment by educating our greatest living resource - the consciousness of our children. q