Karachi Grammar School's Conservation Society's Page

Introduction:
"Did you know that the pollution in Pakistan is estimated to be 20 times higher than world health organization standards?
Did you know that Pakistan’s percentage of forested land is almost the lowest in the world and the rate at which it is disappearing is almost the highest?
And did you know that Karachi was originally designed for 1 million people and today its population is 14 million and growing!
By any measure, Pakistan’s environment is in ruins.

Earth day, April 22nd is the annual celebration of the environment and a time for us to assess the work still needed to protect our planet. But after the few statistics that I have quoted, it is obvious we do not have much to celebrate. We, the future generations of this country, urgently need to take stock and command of our environment.-Alizae Esmail

Aim:
• Design self sustainable projects
• Collectively combat deforestation and malaria
• Save resources by recycling school paper waste
• Spread awareness

Process Adopted:
A President was elected on the basis of student votes from the senior year Environmental Management class. She adopted an intersectoral approach while selecting team members from the entire schools student body. The group was made as diverse as possible, so that each member could contribute where others lacked. Also, three out of the six council members are freshmen, and have been trained to continue with the project, even after the seniors depart. From the group a vice president was appointed. Each member of the team was delegated individual responsibilities which ascertained that everybody contributed equally and substantially to the cause and all deadlines were met. After many brainstorming sessions, eight potential projects were selected and were then presented to the students for consensus. The projects which received the greatest positive feedback were introduced. The authorities of Karachi Grammar School were kept informed of the progress of the project at every stage.

Membership:
President: Alizae Hanif Esmail

Vice president: Taha Ali Bakhtiyar

Other council members:
Maryam Dadabhoy,
Zoha Ansari,
Mishaal Rinch,
Eleyna Haroon .

Project:

1. Adjacent to a boundary wall of Karachi Grammar School is a large, open, polluted body of water that provides an excellent breeding ground for mosquitoes. It is thus of vital importance to protect the students from the hoards of mosquitoes that pose the threat of malaria and dengue round the year. Since pesticides are costly and maybe hazardous to human health and the environment, we have thought of a simpler and more eco friendly solution. As part of our anti malarial campaign, Neem trees have been purchased and were planted alongside the concerned wall on Earth Day. Neem is a unique species that does not directly kill insects, but instead changes their life cycle, prohibiting them from feeding, breeding and metamorphosis, and thus rendering them harmless.

2. The second project focuses on conserving the resources at hand. The focus is on recycling the school’s paper waste. The project serves as a masterstroke as not only does recycling reduce the piles of waste, it also simultaneously generates money to fund the implementation of other projects, including the anti malarial campaign, the key to which was bridge financing.

3. In an effort to spread awareness, a bulletin board has been dedicated to the conservation society and this will regularly be updated with eco news and forthcoming projects. The board is located on an entrance corridor and hence is bound to be noticed. As the school serves as a centre for CIE examinations, not only KGS students, but also those from several other schools, will inevitably be inspired by this board. Again, in order to spread the message, speeches were made by the president and vice president on Earth Day, to urge nonmembers to step forward and contribute.

An extract from the speech made by the vice president:
People across the globe plan to spend Earth Day as one day of the year on which they give back to their planet. They make sure not to litter. They try to minimize exhausts. For one day they try to save up on every resource possible.
Today is the 22nd of April. Today is the much coveted Earth day. And now is the time to start defending our home from the threats it faces. Now is the time to start defending ourselves from extinction. -Taha Ali Bakhtiyar

4. A few projects are still in the conceptual phase and are pending approval. Research suggests that approximately a hundred bottles of mineral water are sold by the school canteen every day. The water being sold however is packaged in non recyclable bottles that do not have the well known PET mark on them. It has been suggested that these bottles must be replaced with easily recyclable ones; an estimated saving of 36000 bottles annually. Also, considering that over fourteen million ballpoint pens are sold each day worldwide, and that each plastic pen in a landfill stays there for fifty thousand years, a project regarding the recycling of ball points has been proposed. The suggestion is to regularly collect the empty shells of pens and reload them with standard refills. These pens are then to be sold back to the students at a cost lower than the standard retail price; thus preventing them from being wasted.

Acknowledgements:
Special thanks to Mrs. D.F.C Mujahid (Headmistress, college section) for facilitating the process, Mrs. Yasmeen Zaman (Teacher of Environmental Management) for her constant guidance and Mrs. Shamsa Currimbhoy (Patron of the conservation society) for her dedication and support.