Newsletter Sept-Oct 2022 | The Climate Project

The Climate Reality Project India
Newsletter (Sep-Oct) 2022

Our newsletter will provide updates from our programs, our fellow Climate Reality Leaders who are making difference and how each one of us can act to solve the crisis. And, we would love to know your story and act of leadership, because every action does matter.

4th International Conference on Sustainability Education (ICSE)

4th International Conference on Sustainability Education (ICSE) was organized on 9th & 10th of September, 2022. It was celebrated with much fanfare and attendance in hybrid mode after the pandemic. Newer collaborations and partnerships were forged to dovetail education and sustainability together. 21 schools from Northern part of India were also facilitated with their respective badges as obtained under the GCP rankings.

The Climate Project Foundation (TCPF) had created an interactive kiosk at the event venue that was based on activities: Pledge wall to create Green Ring; Online Quiz wherein the winners were provided with badges were distributed to the participants who scored more than ⅘ in the quiz; and Placard messaging and Selfie Booth with an active “Make a Difference” campaign. Approximately, 20 Climate Reality Leaders participated in the event.

Team TCPF was actively associated in conducting two sessions: a) Celebrations of Net Zero Carbon & Impact Journey: GCP Schools ki Zubaani and b) Youth For Earth Championship.

a) Celebrations of Net Zero Carbon & Impact Journey: GCP Schools ki Zubaani

The session, “Celebrations of Impact Journey,” aimed at putting the spotlights on the impact journey of the Green Campus Program (GCP) schools that have transformed their conventional campuses into sustainable ones. The objective of the session was to provide a platform for connecting educators, practitioners and policy makers across the globe to promote sustainability education and learning, as well as to provide opportunities for building partnerships and collaborations to strengthen Sustainability Education. The session was moderated by: Ms. Rekha Lalla, Manager- Green Campus Program, TCPF.

During the session, the panellists shared their experiences with the audiences about how with the help of this program they have amplified their organizational goals and how they engage the students, teachers, local communities, parents, and various other stakeholders, holistically, to create sustainable impacts on the society and the lives of the future generations bringing in behavioural and attitudinal changes. One of our trustees, Mr Kamal Meattle addressed the gathering of GCP Winners. He stressed on the current climatic conditions and a solution to this problem. The awards were presented by Mr. Aditya Pundir, Director – India & South Asia. Followed by awards for the 22 Green Campuses-GCP schools shared their Success Stories. Schools presented their initiatives according to the theme wherein they have showcased their best in the journey transformation. They are:

Air & Energy: Sadhu Vaswani School, Delhi
Water: SD Vidya School, Ambala, Haryana
Waste: KIIT School Gurgaon, Haryana
Biodiversity: The Mann School, Delhi

You can view the winners here.

b) Youth For Earth

Youth For Earth is a collaborative initiative of both Mobius Foundation and The Climate Project Foundation, India & South Asia. Youth For Earth Championship offers a platform to the youth to come forward with their plan of action to mitigate climate crisis. This time, we invited applications from India and some of the South Asian countries, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, based on the 7 themes as given below:

Climate Change - SDG 13 (Climate Action)
Water Management - SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation)
Waste Management - SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production)
Air Pollution - SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being)
Energy Efficiency and Conservation - SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy)
Population and Sustainability - SDG 5 (Gender Equality)
Nature and Biodiversity - SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land)

All the participants had to choose one of the themes as their majors and rest of the themes can act allied to it.

The session was moderated by Ms. Smruti S Samantray – Manager Communication and Campaigns, TCPF. The members of the team were invited to the podium to share their story about how they completed the projects; what were the challenges they had faced; and impacts and outcomes of their efforts, among others. We also showcased the video reports, followed by award ceremony.

Here are the names of the winners:

Junior Category

Team Pramiti
Team SD's Change Makers
Team Terra Time
Team Pune Plastic Warriors
Team Greening Mother Earth
Team Urvara

Senior Category

Project Ikhtiyar
Crew for Climate

Know more about them here.

Stakeholder’s Workshop on Climate Change Education Mainstreaming in School Ecosystem

A workshop on Climate Change Education Mainstreaming in School Ecosystem was conducted for the stakeholders by GIZ India, with support of MoEFCC, GoI and with Vikram A. Sarabhai Community Science Centre as implementation partner, and in association with The Climate Project Foundation.

The objective of the workshop was to deliberate with the important stakeholders and provide them feedback and recommendations on the inclusion of climate change education in the school ecosystem. Some of the important dimensions that were discussed are:

Content: To blend the content for climate change with the curriculum as deems fit for middle school
Pedagogical aspects: Climate change learning spaces in schools should not bring in more academic load to the students or be seen as an extra burden by the teachers, students, or parents. Further, it must be aligned with the NEP (National Education Policy) guidelines, where learning moves out of classrooms into an experiential and action-based education. Thus, the workshop included deliberations on these pedagogical aspects.
Infrastructure: Inclusion of climate change education in the schools & the need for creating associated infrastructure for the teachers training and the development of instructional aides was emphasized. A lucid account of the infrastructural requirements is essential in scaling up climate change learning spaces in the school system, which was an important point of discussion.
Replication and scaling up: Activities based on Climate change education should have the potential to be easily replicated across the country. Challenges can be many due to the wide variety of education systems found across the country. Hence, the learning processes and activities should be easily adaptable to the regional requirements and easy to implement in any classroom. Thus, the deliberations will revolve around enabling conditions for easy replications and in scaling up climate change education in schools.

Global Coastal Clean-up Day 2022

As a part of the 'International Coastal Clean-up Day' initiative on 17 September 2022, a massive coastal clean-up drive was organized in Chennai led by one of our Climate Reality Leaders, Ms. Sangeetha Sivadasini. The clean-up drive was initiated by communiTREE Trust, with more than 10,000 registered volunteers from various schools, colleges, corporate houses, NGOs, etc. The volunteers were educated on the importance of Waste segregation at home and also pledged to practice a plastic free lifestyle. More than 1.3 tonnes of plastic and other waste were cleared from 44 beach stretches along the Chennai coastline. The waste collected was picked up by Urbaser Sumeet for recycling. The Climate Project Foundation provided approximately 2000 certificates to the volunteers from schools such as Lady Andal, PSBB, Apollo Hospitals, and other corporates.

Young Indians Climate Summit 2022

Young Indians Climate Summit 2022 was organized on 19th September, 2022. Mr. Bhavesh Swami, Clean Energy Policy and Programs Consultant, TCPF. The Climate Project Foundation participated in the Yi Climate Action Summit 2022 under the larger umbrella of Yi Climate Action Week 2022 that brought together leaders, change makers, youth, and all stakeholders to accelerate efforts for collective thought and climate action.

The platform enabled knowledge exchange about the impacts of climate change, promoted understanding of individual responsibility, and foster skill development among the youth to tackle climate change. Mr. Swami shared how TCPF is working on climate solutions in the category of clean energy, rainwater harvesting training and entrepreneurship opportunities for the youth coming from rural

areas along with the engagement models used to train these people on-site on live projects and how then they start working in nearby regions on their own. More than 200 people participated in the summit.

24 Hours of Reality (12th Edition)

This year was twelfth 24 Hours of Reality presentation. This year the focus was on the powerful progress made by community activists where they live. The theme for our session was, “Building Green Communities,” with a focus on how Green Communities are being created and supported by Climate Reality and its leadership network.

The panellists of our 1 hour of broadcast were Matthew Boms, Director of Strategic Programs, Latin America Branch; Aditya Pundir, Director, India and South Asia Branch and Isadora Gran, Climate Engagement and Justice Coordinator, Brazil Branch, moderated by Al Gore, Former VP of USA, and Nobel Laureate. The discussions extended to native tree plantation; training of locals on climate change related issues, regenerative agriculture, multiplier effect on low-cost pest technologies using organic/nature-based solutions, lesser chemicals, green education via sustainable campuses.

Virtual Dialogue on Ozone Day 2022

World Ozone Day 2022 is marked on 16 September, and is observed under Montreal Protocol@35 with the theme "Global Cooperation Protecting Life on Earth". The theme recognises the wider impact the Montreal Protocol has on climate change and the need to act in collaboration, forge partnerships and develop global cooperation to address climate challenges and protect life on earth for future generations.

Virtual Centre of Excellence for Social Welfare Administration (VCoE-SWA), under the aegis of Association of Professional Social Workers and Development Practitioners (APSWDP) organized a virtual dialogue/ program in partnership with Chitkara College of Education, Chitkara University, Signicent LLP, and The Climate Reality Project India (TCPI). Guest Speaker, Ms. Supriya Salaria provided insights on “Ozone Layer Protection and Sustainable Development”, and Guest Speaker, Mr. Hitesh Kumar Gulati engaged the audience in a "Quiz on World Ozone Day 2022".

An active participation was seen from people from varied walks of life, including Academicians, Business Consultant, Corporate Sector Professional, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Professional, Development Practitioner, Entrepreneur, Government Officers, Public Health Expert, Legal Practitioner, Researcher, Social Activist, Students and others.

Workshop on Eco-friendly Diwali

A workshop on eco-friendly Diwali celebrations was conducted in Mount Abu School, Rohini, Delhi by Ms. Rekha Lalla, Manager- Green Campus Program, TCPF.

At the onset of Diwali, the children of the school decided to celebrate noiseless and pollution free Diwali by not bursting the firecrackers and spreading awareness among their neighbourhoods. The objective of this programme was to generate awareness about the environment among the teaching community & students. Ms. Lalla underlined that Diwali is the festival of light and no celebration of this festival is considered with the use of firecrackers. And, bursting of fireworks cause severe air and noise pollution posing serious health hazards.

Firecrackers contain sulphur and carbon, when these firecrackers are lit, these chemicals are released into the air, reducing air quality drastically. This is the reason this workshop was being organised. She shared several mitigation tactics of how one can convert a few celebrations into environment-friendly means. The workshop was interactive and the students found them useful. Approximately 700 children attended the session and pledged to carry these sensibilities forward and act on them.

The Picture Protest 2022

On the 7th of October, 2022, more than 300 students from the Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies, Pune, gathered in the campus amphitheatre to raise their voice against the rapidly changing temperatures and irregular rainfall patterns in Pune. Hundreds of students assembled with their umbrellas, to express their disdain toward these ever-changing climate forecasts. The protest started with a small, motivational speech from the Director of SCMS, Pune, Dr. Adya Sharma, followed by a speech from Mr. Shivam Singh, an alumnus of the institution and National Coordinator – Youth Engagement. After the speeches, the students and teachers witnessed plausible thematic performances of dance and music, performed by the students themselves. The event concluded with the students writing their displeasure about the climate changes on postcards, and finally gathering for a picture with their umbrellas, to express their protest against irregular rainfall patterns. The event was a huge success, with hopes of conducting many more such events in the future.

Stephen Mills from US Headquarters Visited India

Mr. Stephen Mills, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, Climate Reality Project was in India to meet the India & South Asia branch staff members, Climate Reality Leaders, and other stakeholders. He also learned about the works done by the branch along with the current status of different entities in the region on Climate Change issues and how they are preparing for CoP27.

Mr. Mills had a meeting with Shloka Nath, CEO, India Climate Collaborative, Mumbai to discuss about the possibility of hosting in-person training by Mr. Gore in the region in 2023; to ideate how more corporates and HNIs can form a collation to fight climate change; and about routing CSR funds from corporates for ‘on-ground’ implementation. He also interacted with Rajiv Kumar, General Manager, Green Climate & Energy Efficiency Centre, SIDBI for CSR projects and green campus transformations, in addition to sharing success stories that catalyse circular economy. A meeting with Ajay Mathur, DG, International Solar Alliance, underlined the opportunities to collaborate for ‘March towards Net Zero Campus,’ Green Jobs in the Solar Sector, and transforming the campuses of governmental institutions green in ISA region/ country.

In addition to this, CRL - Meet N’ Greet sessions for Climate Reality Leaders were organized in Maharashtra and Delhi-NCR.

Meet N’ Greet in Mumbai

On 13th October, 2022, Meet N’ Greet sessions for Climate Reality Leaders in Maharashtra was held in Mumbai. Ms. Nita Ganguly discussed about the initiatives she has been undertaking to curb climate crisis and how she introduced RUCO to wider audience during the pandemic. Her blog on RUCO can be read here. The interactions also involved on how ocean education can be brought into due regard by the media; how sustainable education and sustainable travel can be promoted through

her visits to various places; how we can make the best use of visuals and storytelling to communicate climate change to the masses and zero waste targets. Her daughter Dr Amrita Ganguly and her husband Ayan Banerjee were also there. Both are trained Climate Reality Leaders from Houston.

Mr. Nikhil Kamath emphasized on the best way to reach out to the youth and other communities with story-telling and sharing the message of hope. Ms. Varsha Rajkhowa, another Climate Reality Leader from the North-eastern India, emphasized on sustainable living in Nagaland and plastic free festival celebration; water management during Hornbill festival; and forest fire campaign that she had done with Bhutan forest officials among other topics.

Meet N’ Greet in New Delhi

On 14th October, 2022, Meet N’ Greet sessions for Climate Reality Leaders in Delhi-NCR was held in New Delhi. After the introduction of the attendees, all the Climate Reality Leaders discussed about their domain of work and the recent activities they have been involved in.

Approximately 13 Climate Reality Leaders were there. Heavy interactions were carried out within the verticals of EV, Renewable Energy, Education & GCP impacts (along with integrating tree plantation drives in GCP), and impact of media. They also shared the kind of support they seek from us, TCPF.

The Climate Reality Project India Newsletter (Sep-Oct) 2022