Vidya Vanam played host to a day-long event to commemorate World Environment Day on June 5. Organised by the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), the programme was on the theme was Beat Plastic Pollution. Over 700 children from various schools in Coimbatore participated in various competitions like painting, elocution, just-a-minute sessions, games and quizzes.
Prema Rangachary, Vidya Vanam’s Director, spoke about Vidya Vanam’s methodology at a three-day education conference held at Vedavalli Vidyalaya, Ranipet. Four teachers from Vidya Vanam attended the conference. Vidya Vanam’s students performed a tribal dance during the conference.
Three students from the DBRT course went for a six-day training programme to Vigyan Ashram, Pabal, Maharashtra in the second week of June. They were accompanied by C Sridharan, the DBRT coordinator. DBRT stands for Diploma in Basic Rural Technology and is offered by NIOS as a livelihood training course for students who have completed Std. VIII. At the Vigyan Ashram programme, Paramasivan, Satish and Bharat learnt to take measurements using Vernier Calipers, about the basic tools of electrical work, to measure wires using the wire gauge, to calculate electricity bills, about circuit wiring (simple, parallel and series) and how to set up wiring for a staircase and gowdown. In the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry section, they learnt to calculate the animal’s age, how to measure its weight and height, to prepare a vermicompost pit and bio-pesticides. In the Home Science class, they learnt to make biscuits, jams and pickles and also how to market these products.