GUWAHATI, Feb 12 � �Save the Wetlands, save the Biodiversity of Assam,� said the students of Maria�s Public School as they celebrated the World Wetlands Day, 2015 in their school campus. Through various scientific projects and presentations that were planned throughout the day, the students of classes 8, 9 and 11 were tutored by the subject teachers to mark the date of the adoption of the �Convention on Wetlands� on February 2, 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Inspired by the �Ramsar Secretariat� which provides materials each year since 1971, to the government agencies, non-governmental organisations, conservation organisations, institutions and groups of citizens to help raise public awareness about the importance and value of wetlands, the students participated in soil testing, survey of biodiversity, water testing, community learning programmes in and around the Damal Beel, located at Birkuchi, Narengi here and photo exhibitions, PPT presentations and GPS mapping of the school campus. �Generating the awareness for the wetlands and the biodiversity is most crucial because our school is located right beside one.
The number of migratory and resident birds that still flock to the region gladdens our hearts and we inspire and encourage our students to engage more into conservation related activities�, said Nellie Ahmed Tanweer, the founder and managing trustee of the school.
Present during the one-day programme were Alpana K Phukan, the principal of the school and Anjan Gogoi, the vice-principal, Nilofer Jaman, head of department of Science and Shehnaaz Rahman, head of the department of Social Science.
Sushmita Chakraborty, Ruchi Rai Sharma, Nivedita Choudhury and Kalyani Chaubey were the teacher mentors for the above projects. Integrating nature photography into the mainstream curriculum as a part of the co-scholastic activities, the department of Graphic Design and Media, headed by Biswajit De, the creative director has been inspiring the students to appreciate the beauty of nature, through their lenses, over the past couple of years.
