(ANS – Mumbai) - Students from 50 schools in Mumbai are striving to be more environmentally conscious and to care for creation, so as to conserve better our "common home", as Pope Francis calls it. The Salesians are also involved in encouraging those good practices.

From the creation of gardens for butterflies to nesting sites, the habitat for amphibians to ant-hills, the youth of the city are going beyond mere academic study in order to deal with an urgent issue for all: the care of creation.

One such school is Sacred Heart High School, Vashi, that has been awarded the Greenest School award by GreenLine - a Don Bosco Environmental organisation working in the city of Mumbai. The award took place on 5 March at Don Bosco International School, Matunga.  

Nirmala Nair, a teacher at Sacred Heart School, says, “NGO’s like GreenLine help us immensely. They conduct indoor and outdoor sessions with the kids, making it an interesting and hands-on experience for the students.”

Fr Savio Silveira, Director of GreenLine says, “Through their green initiatives students are getting more and more involved in larger issues, ones that affect the city.”

According to Fr Edwin D`Souza, Chairman of the Maschio Memorial Foundation that funds the awards given to the winning schools, “The foundation’s thrust is to support innovation and by getting the students while still young to nurture nature, we are ensuring that good habits grow with them.”

Published 14/03/2016