Last month, after 85 weeks during which thousands of local volunteers meeting on the weekends had collected in all 5.3 million kgs of garbage and plastic from Versova beach, Mumbai’s dirtiest beach, has now turned into its cleanest. The entire exercise is now being called the world’s biggest beach cleanup, being endorsed by the United Nations and it was all started by one man whose enthusiasm attracted others, who then dedicated themselves to the task. This World Environment Day is there anything to be learnt from the Versova beach cleanup?
In a remarkable coincidence, the new academic year begins on World Environment Day, and the United Nations, has a lesson on environment for the next generation. In keeping with the theme ‘Connecting People to Nature’, the UN asks people to ‘get outdoors and into nature, to appreciate its beauty and its importance, and to take forward the call to protect the earth’. But there’s a little more that the UN is asking this Environment Day. It is saying that to ensure a sustainable future, the next generation needs to understand their connection with the natural world to protect it and hence, the UN wants that on June 5, you don’t just experience nature, but teach it to the young ones.
The best lesson that students returning to school on Monday could get would be on the environment, on the importance of protecting it for the future. But the lesson need not necessarily happen on that day itself. It can happen later in the week or even later in the month, when schools and teachers have had more time to plan a lecture and an activity for the children.
An activity is important. A Versova beach cleanup kind of exercise may be a very ambitious task, and the activity need not necessarily involve a beach. But unless somebody starts something small somewhere, there will be nobody doing anything for the environment anywhere. In every village, in every town of Goa there is something that a the local school or college in the vicinity could take up as a project for World Environment Day and keep at it through the year, making a small commitment that could convert into a big game changer for the village or town.
World Environment Day every year is all about neighbourhood cleanups, planting trees and any little act for the environment. It needs to be something a little more this year. In their own manner thousands of people are contributing their mite towards the protection of the environment. Last month a start was made by a couple of persons in Panjim, who on a Saturday morning picked up garbage and plastic floating on the waters of the St Inez Creek. It drew some attention and such little activities need to be promoted and publicised, so more people are inspired to follow suit and join the efforts to protect and save the environment.
It is easy to take nature, especially the air we breathe, the water we drink, for granted. It is easy to fault the government services when there is a water shortage or when a little rainfall floods the streets, without for even a moment admitting that it is our actions that have resulted in these very problems. In such cases, we experience the effects not of somebody else’s actions, but our own too. And those actions of ours have to change, if the environment is going to be preserved for the future generations.
The lesson that needs to be taught to the younger generation on World Environment Day is to respect nature, live with it and not intrude upon it.
