DAV PUBLIC SCHOOL, KANSBAHALDESIGN FOR CHANGE SCHOOL CHALLENGE-2012

“WONDERS OF HERBS”-A JOURNEY TOWARDS A GREEN & HEALTHY LIFE.

PROJECT REPORTD.A.V. Public School, Kansbahal took up a project on creation

of Herbal Garden in the school campus from 3rd September, 2012 to 9thSeptember, 2012 as a part of DESIGN FOR CHANGE SCHOOL CHALLENGE-2012 on the topic “Wonders of Herbs: - A journey towards a green and healthy life.”

Objectives of the Project To have a herbal garden in our school campus. To achieve a Clean and Green Environment in and around the School

premises. To create awareness among the students about the medicinal values of

different herbs that can be grown in the school garden & local surrounding.

To reinforce the message of protecting and caring for the herbal plants. To make the students eco conscious citizens of the future.

Our Team:To conduct the programme systematically Mr. A.K.Nayak was nominated as mentor. The students of class-IX (English medium) & Eco Club members were divided into nine groups & started working to develop a herbal garden in our school campus under the supervision of the principal Mrs. Rashmi Mishra and In-Charge teachers Mrs. N. Roy, Mrs. G. Naik, Mrs. R.R. Mohapatra & Mr. S.R. Naik. Each group was assigned a name after a herbal plant & was expected to take complete responsibility of a certain number of herbal plants. A lot of excitement & enthusiasm was seen among the students and reflected the feeling of being protective & caring towards the plants.

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The name of the groups & the leaders are as follows:–

ALOE VERA AMLA SATAVARIAYUSHA SATAPATHY SURAVI PANIGRAHI SANJANA PATRA

TULSI BRAHMI ASHWAGANDHASHRIYANKA DASH PRIYANKA PRADHAN SIMRANJIT PANESAR

NEEM PUDINA CHIRATA ANSHU AMAN GAURAV MOHANTY VIVEK PRADHANWe concentrated our efforts on the students and teachers as we believe that the students are the future of the nation and the school teachers are effective catalysts in shaping the minds of children during their formative years and making them realize the importance of having a clean and green environment around them. Each group leader so trained is expected to influence the minds of at  least  20-30 students in his/her sphere of influence, who in turn would be Didactics to influence the thinking and actions of their families about environment, thereby setting in motion student based mini environmental revolution for conservation of natural resources and to have cleaner and greener surroundings.The project was overall an enriching educational programme to create awareness about various Herbs among the students of the school & educate them on the importance of Herbal Plants & their medicinal values in the day to day life.The programme was conducted on the following dates.

3 rd September, 2012 Introductory programme:An introductory programme was held among the team members for the successful conduct of the planned programme in the School. An introduction was given by the Mentor during this meeting. The students were aware about the importance of herbs in their everyday life.A brief discussion about Culinary Herbs, Medicinal Herbs, Ornamental Herbs, and Aromatic Herbs was held in the meeting between the group leaders. To

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gain knowledge about different herbs & their medicinal values, they consulted their biology teachers. They were given instructions about identification & collection of herbal (medicinal) plants, weeding, tilling, nurturing, arrangement & maintenance of these plants. Site selection & Cleaning drive:The site is located on the west of the school building inside the campus. It is a level plot of dimension 10 m X 8 m properly illuminated by sunlight. A water tap is close to the plot for convenient watering of the plants.

The enthusiastic students of our team under the leadership of group leaders took the initiative of mowing grass & uprooting the weeds manually. Cleanliness drive was undertaken & the site was made suitable for herbal garden.

4 th September, 2012 Education programme, Expert’s Advice and Awareness speech:

An education programme to provide adequate literature and training about the herbs was organized in the school. A lecture-cum-presentation was given by Mr. M. Panigrahi, Horticulturist, L & T, Kansbahal. The students were counseled on the importance of herbs in day to day life. Mr. Panigrahi delivered his speech on herbal plants and their medicinal uses. The students asked their queries and he explained all those satisfactorily. He gave live demonstration on various herbal plants and tried to create awareness among the students. The students were so trained that they were not only able to identify the herbal plants but also acquired adequate knowledge about the uses of the plants.Collection of data, Placard & Poster making:

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After the programme got over, the group leaders under the guidance of biology teachers browsed the net and downloaded the botanical names and medicinal uses of various herbal plants those are available in local areas. They made placards protected by polythene coating which include common names, botanical names and uses of the plants.

5 th September, 2011 Rally & Field visit:

On this date a rally was organized with the active participation of eco club members & class-IX students under the guidance of group leaders & guide teachers. A large number of Placards, Posters & Banners were displayed. The main purpose of the rally was to spread awareness about lifesaving herbs to the nearby rural areas.Identification & Collection of useful herbal plants

A group of students along with the leaders & guide teachers went to nearby places which are rich in diverse types of herbal plants. They identified different herbs, their uses with the help of the guide teachers. They collected many herbs from different fields & brought to the school. This visit enabled the students to know the vastness of herbs in the nature & also to know their medicinal values.6 th September, 2012 Interaction with village people

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During the field visit, our team met the villagers. To involve them, an interview session was conducted for the exchange of ideas. The people revealed many secrets of medicinal plants in the locality. They gave us various information to identify & conserve the medicinal plants. They also enlightened us about the methods of treatment of various diseases by using these plants.

Visit to local nursery & Collection of herbal plants

7 th & 8 th September, 2012 Plantation of herbal saplings in pots:

Around 80 pots were purchased. They were cleaned and painted green by the students. Rich black soil was mixed with compost and the pots were filled.

Plantation & Designing Herbal Garden:

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The plants (more than 60 types) collected from the field visit and purchased from nursery were planted in the pots by the students under the guidance of mentor and guide teachers. Students involved in plantation were given a plant each and assigned the responsibility to care for that plant. The group leaders were delegated the responsibility of protecting and caring for the Herbal Garden in the school. This helped to build a sense of belongingness among all the students.The students designed the herbal garden in a most attractive manner that added to the beautification of the school campus. Pots were arranged in such a way so that the plants could receive maximum sunlight & fresh air.

9 th September, 2011 Inauguration of Herbal Garden

On this day the herbal garden was completed and it was inaugurated by Mrs. Vasanthi R. Rao, President, Women’s Welfare & Charitable Foundation, L&T, Kansbahal. She along with Principal Mrs. Rashmi Mishra planted two plants. Mrs. Rao was kind enough to deliver a short speech through which she appreciated the efforts made by the students towards a green school campus & a healthy life. She enlightened the students about the usefulness of the planted herbs which enable to lead a healthy life in the lap of nature.With this our programme “Design for change school challenge-2012” came to an end, but we decided it is just the beginning and it is to be continued . . . . . . .

AcknowledgementsWe are thankful to Mrs. Rashmi Mishra, principal, D.A.V. Public School, Kansbahal under whose able guidance and encouragement we conducted the programme in the school.

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We express our thankfulness to Mr. M. Panigrahi & Mrs. Vasanthi R. Rao for coming to school and giving valuable speeches and motivating the students to be aware towards a green world.We are thankful to our mentor & guide teachers for giving their whole hearted support and cooperation in achieving our objective and in making our mission a success. We got very good cooperation & support from the other teachers & students of the school and so, we are thankful to them also.

Design for Change School Challenge-2012 Team, DAV PUBLIC SCHOOL (CBSE),

KANSBAHAL.

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