Zero waste Kanyakumari Module for Schools

Zero waste KanyakumariModule for Schools By, M.Kohila, Junior B.T., S.M.R.V.H.S.S., Nagercoil, Kanyakumary District

Our District - Kanyakumari Kanyakumari District is a district of TamilNadu state, India; it is the southernmost land area of mainland India.Kanniyakumari District is one of the smallest District in Tamil Nadu is surrounded by majestic hills, plains and colourful seashores. The District is known as “The district of Ponds” It is at the tip of the Indian Peninsula, and faces the Indian Ocean. Beautiful Kumari Kanyakumari is noted for tourism. Thiruparappu waterfalls. Chothavilai Beach, near Nagercoil. Thirparappu Waterfalls. Mathur Aqueduct (Mathur Hanging Trough Bridge.) Padmanabhapuram Palace. Vattakottai Fort. Suchindrum (Thanumalayan) Temple. Chitharal Jain Monuments (about 35 km near Marthandam) Udayagiri Fort. Mathur Hanging Trough, near Thiruvattar Ulakaiaruvi waterfalls, about 20 km from Nagercoil . Pechiparai,Perunchaani,Chittar Mukkadal dams . Sanguthurai Beach, about 8 km from Nagercoil . Salt pans. Vivekananda memorial rock Thiruvalluvar statue Mahathma Gandhi memorial at Kanyakumari Have you ever visited these places? Think ! How will you protect these beautiful places?

River Parali Mathur Hanging Trough

Important places to visit in our district Manakkudi bridge Mukkadal Dam Pechippaarai Dam Vattappaarai Keerippaarai stream Thiruparappu waterfalls

Important places to visit in our district Salt pan in our district Sothavilai beach Jain temple at Chitharal Padmanabapuram palace Agriculture:Kanyakumari District accounts for more than 95% of the production of natural rubber in the state of Tamil Nadu. Rubber is cultivated mainly in the hilly areas (on the western ghats) in the interior, while paddy fields and other crops are mainly found on the plains, near the coast. Paddy fields Coconut trees Rubber trees

Forests • Thirkumalai, Thadagaimalai, Pongaimalai, mahendragiri, Verapuli, Velimalai, • Old Kulasekaram, Kilamalai, Asambu. Etc. Velimalai Marunthuvazhmalai Udhayahiri fort Kalikesam Keerippaarai Forest

Present condition Now a days every body lead a fast life. Time is not enough for them to enjoy the beauty and to preserve that for future. If it continues, we will leave only desert for our followers. Desert Activity 1: Plant trees in your school campus , street and near home. 2. Take a survey how many trees you see in you school, street, home. Compare it with other children.Find whose area is cooler than others. Save nature Enjoy beauty Did you know? World Wetlands Day - February 2

Health and Environment Health and environment are interrelated. Environment means the air, soil, water ……. Etc. which surround us. When the environment is not protected, it will affect our health. Accumulation of discards in our surrounding provides a shelter for a lot of disease causing organisms like mosquitoes, flies, Rodents etc. They cause diseases like dengue, Malaria, Filaria, Chikungunya, Swine flu….. etc. Napkins picture Personal hygiene • How do these discards cause diseases? • Do you have the above mentioned diseases in your area? Filaria • Attention • Health depends on personal hygiene and • environmental health. • Changing napkins in thrice a day keep you • healthy. • Prevention is better than cure. • Activity: • 1.List out the discards you can observe in your school • campus. • 2.List out the discards you can observe in your street. • 3.Celebrate Global hand washing day on October 15. Increase sanitation – Reduce diseases Clean Hands Save Lives !

Attitude Throw away The waste thrown Look at this picture. Think and answer the following questions: 1. What are the girls doing? 2. What does the cup and spoons made of? 3. What will they do after finishing their meal? 4. Can we recycle or reuse the cups? 5. How can we reduce these discards? Use and throw cups and spoons

Buy-Use – Throw (Conversation in an office) Rahim: I have arranged for a marriage party in my house tomorrow .You must attend the party. I have invited all the office people. Kadhar: Yes, I will come. Rahim: I have arranged a special party for you. Kadhar: What! Special party? Rahim: You come and see tomorrow. ( Next day, marriage party is celebrated at Rahim’shome.Banana leaves are used to serve meals.) Kadhar: Rahim! Now a days plastic plates are available. You might have used them for the feast. It is very easy to serve. All the people use this. Why do they serve in the banana leaves? Rahim: Yes.You are right. But nobody care about the discards secreted by this. We pile up a lot of garbage in the earth using plastic and thermacol plates. So that I have arranged for banana leaves. Kadhar: That’s correct. See, cool drinks are there but there is no straw. Rahim: Cool drink bottles are specially designed to drink directly with out using the straw. Then why should we use the straw unnecessarily. Kadhar: That’s right . What is this? Here the tea is supplied in silver cups. If you use the paper cup , we need not clean it again. Why do you prefer this silver cup? Rahim: Yes Kadhar,we could use paper cups instead of plastic cups. After using the things once used , there are so much of garbage's are secreted. It is better to use silver cups to avoid the garbages isn’t it? Kadhar: There are a lot of possibilities to spread diseases if the silver cups are not cleaned properly. Rahim: But , We should not use the tumblers which are not cleaned properly. If you consume water with a dirty silver tumbler you will be affected by dissentry and vomiting which can be cured. But if you consume water with plastic cups , you will be affected by the chemicals which are leached from the plastic cups in the tea . It causes many dangerous diseases. The chemicals also cannot be separated from our body. Kadhar: Is it? Here after I will use silver cup only to drink tea. I suggest this idea to our manager to buy some silver cups for our office use. So hat we need not to buy paper cups for each and every party. Rahim: Exactly. I also accept with you. Kadhar:I understand that we should get rid of use and throw policy. Say True or false: silver cups are better than plastic/paper cups.

(Conversation between Malaria Mosquito and Dengue Mosquito) Cartoons of two Mosquites Malaria : Hai, Dengue, how are you? I have not seen you for many days? Dengue : Yes, Malaria. I have gone to Kasikuppam. How are you now? Malaria : I am not in a good condition. Dengue : Why do you say like that? Malaria : Earlier, In this area there was a lot of garbage every where. We were living together happily. Dengue : What happens now? Malaria : Now, people are aware of the environment. The city is very clean. We can not see garbage anywhere. Dengue : How did the change come? Malaria : All happened by the people only. People have started thinking of this. Dengue : Is it? How did they think about it? Malaria : They have separated the garbage in to degradable and non degradable items, and sent them to the municipality. Dengue : Is it? It is a big wonder. Malaria : And the municipally clears off the garbage from the public places. So we don’t see the garbage in the city. Dengue : Oh! There is no garbage to dwell. Then, where do you live now? Malaria : Now, we are living in a slum at the end of the town. People say that the slum will be cleaned by the municipality very soon. Our condition will be very critical. Dengue : I am extreme sorry to hear your sad story. Ok it is the time for me to meet my friends, Bye. Hi Dengue ! How are you? Hi ! Malaria!

Economics Dialogue between Rajesh and Raman in the railway station. Rajesh : Hello, I am Rajesh and You ? Raman : My name is Raman. I am a teacher. Rajesh :Good, I am a computer Engineer, working in Chennai (Drinking water) Raman : I am going to Chennai to see my daughter. Brother, How much did you give for the water bottle? Rajesh : Rs. 14 (throwing away the bottle through the window after drinking) Raman : Is it so! I have bought 1 liter of water for Rs two you have given Rs.12 only for the bottle. Now you have thrown away the bottle too. Rajesh : What shall I do with the empty bottle? So I have thrown away the bottle. Rajesh :You have paid even for the empty bottle. Then, why do you throw it away? Do you know the effects of this? Rajesh : What are the effects? Tell me. Raman :The substances that you throw away such as plastic bottles, and plastic cups make the soil pollutants. The water is stagnated in the plastic things, and mosquitoes, lay eggs in it and breed. So we get a lot of diseases and we spend a lot of money to cure it. Rajesh :Do we have so much problems by using plastic bottles? Raman :Not only that, you must know one more thing.OurGovt spends a lot of money to remove the things we throw away carelessly. Rajesh :What you say is right. I have understood clearly that our economy is very much affected by the discards. I will be very careful about it here after.

Justice Prodigal son (story) Malan is a mischievous boy.He has a sister named Shanthi. Malan would always quarrel with his sister. Oneday Malan’s mother said to him, “ Malan, today I am not feeling well. House is full of dust. Will you clean this? Malan replied his mother , “Cleaning the house is not the work of boys , it is the duty of the girls. I will not clean he house ,you say to Shanthi to do it . Hearing this , Malan’s father said, “ Shanthi went to grand mother’s house.So you just clean the house.” Malan said , “ I will call her up and ou tell her to clean the house. If my friends noticed me cleanin g the house, they will tease me .” After telling this , he went to play. Malan’s mother cleaned the house painfully. Next day, the teacher taught a lesson about the “zero waste management.” The teacher said to them , “Who will clean the waste of your house?” All the girls stood up for the question . The teacher said to the boys “ Won’t you clean your house? The boys replied chorus , “ It is the duty of the girls”. The teacher said , “ You are wrong my dear students. It is our duty to clean off the dust whenever we see. Do you know our national father Mahathma Gandhi himself cleaned the ‘Ashram’? Dear students, it is our duty to clear away the dust and put it in a proper place. Don’t think that it is the duty of others”. The teacher emphasized the students to reduce the garbage and to clear away them without having any difference of caste, creed, race, and language ….etc. When we do so , the surroundings will be clean without garbage. While returning home , Malan thinks about the teacher’s advice and realized his mistakes. He reached home and started cleaning his house with a broom stick. Think! Who clean your home regularly? Say true or False: Boys should not clean their house. Cleaning is the duty of girls only.

Vermitech-Implementation at school Students activities Fill the pit with agro waste (Noonmeal), cow dung, and fallen leaves from trees. Spread sack to prevent the earth worm escape from the pit. Selection of place for vermiculture. Dig the pit. After three weeks We can observe the Vermicomposed manure at the top of the pit. (The appearance of black granular crumbly powder on top of vermibeds indicate harvest stage of the compost. Watering is stopped for at least 5 days at this stage. Earth worm was applied on the bedding. After two weeks the partialy compost waste bed is ready for Vermicompost. Make a heap of the vermicompost.The earth worms go down and the compost is collected from the top. Separate the baby worms and worm cocoons from it by sieving method.Now the manure is ready to use. Separate the baby worms and worm cocoons from it by sieving method. Now the manure is ready to use. The earthworms go down and the compost is collected from the top.

Vermitech-Implementation at school Students activities 4 Fill the pit with agrowaste(Noon meal, Fallen leaves, vegetable peel)and cowdung. 1 Selection of place for vermiculture at school. 5 After two weeks the partially composed bed is ready for vermi compost 2 Dig the pit to put the discards from the school. 3 Spread used plastic sack to prevent the earth worm escape from the pit 6 Now earth worm is applied in to the bed.

Vermitech-School activities….. After three weeks we can observe the vermicompost manure at the top of the pit. Separate the baby worms and worm cocoons from it by sieving method. Now the manure is ready to use. Watering is stopped for at least 5 days at this stage. The appearance of black granular crumbly powder on top of vermibeds indicate harvest stage of the compost. Make a heap of the vermicompost.The earth worms go down and the compost is collected from the top. Do you want to prepare vermicompost at your home? Here is an idea…… Dear students you can prepare this vermicompost at your home by hanging basket in a corner at your home. Find! 1.How many varieties of earth worms are used for vermiculture? 2.How can you give awareness on vermicompost to your friends neighbours? 16

Economics: We are living in a false economy where the price of goods and services does not include the cost of waste and pollution. Manufacturer produce goods and think about the profit only. The discard materials usually requires significantly less energy , water and other resources to recycle materials than to produce new materials.In developed countries, the most common consumer items such as pet bottles paper , card board, newspaper etc..are recycled into new useful materials.( products) Such a way their productive capacity is improved. Discard materials such as leaves, twigs,gross clippings and rotten vegetables are decomposed and it is used as manure. Having a discard recycling management plan would surely help in ensuring the communities economic condition into a better way. The discard things canbe collected from the communities and it can be sold in the market . Such a way people can earn money, Activity: Make a vermicomposed plant in our school. Try to convert the degradable wastes such as falling leaves and noon meal waste into manure. Sold the vermicomposed manure and earn money. Did you know? World Wetlands Day - February 2

Attitude The waste thrown into a dustbin go to a larger bin placed in the street and from there it is goes to villages also places where marginalized or less privileged people live. In a way , it is transferring of one’s problem to somebody or some other region without managing it. This kind of attitude causes the pollution and garbages. • Throw away: (What should we do?) • It is important that we must avoid throwing the waste in public places. • We must create an awareness among the people that throwing things in such places is completely spoiling the healthy condition of the human being.. • Create awareness on diseases spread due tothrowinggarbages in public places. centres, parks, railway station, at street, road, recreation Do you know? ------- Tons/kgsgarbages are collected per day from our town/District/home

Use and throw Things, which we have used one and thrown away are called use and throw things. In the olden ages this use and throw policy was Pictures of ball point pens, ink pens, paper cups, silver cups, practised by the wealthy communities only. But now a days all people use the policy. Because of the technological improvement, common people want to consume single usage product. Effects: As these products are much consumed by the people, the environment is much polluted by these things. Remedies: People can use ink pens instead ball point or use and throw pens. People may use silver cups instead of paper cups. People should be aware of the effects of use and throw things

Zero waste Kanyakumari Module for Schools