Global warming, pollution, deforestation, melting ice caps, loss of biodiversity and climate change are a list of environmental threats one might find in a student’s textbook. However, this list is the harsh reality of the planet we call home and to discover its main cause all one has to do is look in the mirror. Man poses the biggest threat to the environment. But, sustainable action by man also offers the only way to prevent the inevitable environmental catastrophe we are heading towards.
An eco-warrior who believes in this concept of sustainable development is 26-year-old Shorya Bisaria. He, along with two of his friends, was involved in creating a fully-fledged nursery with around 400 red plumeria plants at the Shanti Niketan School, Assagao using the help of the students themselves.
“My ultimate ambition is sustainability of the planet in terms of resources,” says Shorya.
The idea traces back to his third year when Shorya and his classmates had to plant saplings in his college for an environment related subject. The plants eventually began to wither due to lack of water. Only Shorya and another classmate, Saikrishna Kamat, used to water the plants taking buckets from the first floor to the ground floor much to the amusement of the other students.
After graduation, both of them decided to do something practical for the environment. They first took a few saplings and planted it in a primary school during the rainy season. They also created a small nursery in Saikrishna’s house.
The idea for the school nursery germinated while Shorya was doing an internship with the El Shaddai Charitable Trust in Goa which also runs the Shanti Niketan School. He approached them with a proposal asking for Rs 3000 with which he would do something practical for the environment with the students and also return the money later.
So Shorya, Saikrishna along with another friend, Gajanan Patil took a group of seventh standard students and started to create the nursery. This was in the year 2014.
The plants then remained in the school for the next two years. By the time the students reached Class IX in 2016, the plants had developed strong roots. Some were then kept at the school itself while others were sold to locals in Assagao.
“The market value of red plumeria is approximately Rs 100. But we sold it for around Rs 10-20 because we had done it for the love of nature. The initial cost invested was recovered, the locals were happy and the students learned about sustainable development,” says Shorya.
The plants reach heights of up to 30 feet when fully grown. Shorya says that the reason for nurturing these big plants as compared to smaller ones was so that birds can build their nests there. Also, it is said to be five degrees cooler under the shade of a tree.
Shorya has completed his Masters in Social Work and one can see his passion for the environment though the projects he takes up.
He was involved in the ‘Tata Building India’ essay competition where he visited schools in Goa, showed Tata-linked inspirational documentaries and also talked on ‘global warming and climate change’, the topic for the year 2016-17. After the presentation, students used to write an essay on the topic.
One of the major consequences of global warming are melting ice-caps and Shorya said that research suggests that around 10 countries will be underwater by the year 2050. He also showed a video depicting how Asia would look like if all the earth’s ice melted.
Shorya also plans to minimise water consumption. He aims to make it compulsory to fix a water regulating device on taps to prevent unnecessary wastage. He also wants to implement compulsory non-plastic packaging for certain manufactured goods.
This 26-year-old environmentalist through his activities truly embodies a quote by Margaret Thatcher which says, ‘No generation has a freehold on this earth. All we have is a life tenancy – with full repairing lease.’
