On June 2026, Don Bosco Technical School, Maligaon, celebrated World Environment Day 2026 with an awareness programme and a sapling-planting drive, joining institutions worldwide in responding to this year’s theme: “Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For our Future” and its global campaign message centred on nature-based solutions for climate action.
The programme brought together students, staff, and animators for a series of talks, a video presentation, a poster launch, and a tree-planting activity. Mr Leo Lacto Kerketta, Electrical Instructor, opened the programme with a stirring exhortation: the day must not merely be celebrated — it must prompt participants to act. His words set the tone for an event that repeatedly returned to the theme of personal responsibility over ritual observance.
Mr Aktar, one of the students, sharpened the challenge with a memorable question: “What is the point of being educated if we are to throw garbage that has to be picked up by an uneducated person?” The remark drew attention to a recurring and striking insight shared across the talks — that village communities often demonstrate greater ecological awareness than urban dwellers, not through campaigns or slogans, but through the simple, daily practice of collecting and reusing plastic waste. Other speakers urged students not merely to plant trees and move on, but to change their habits: disposing of wrappers responsibly, using dustbins, and reducing plastic litter in their immediate surroundings.
Mr Sanku Kumar, AI Instructor, presented a video on climate change that traced the science behind the greenhouse effect, rising global temperatures, melting glaciers, and increasingly extreme weather events. The presentation also highlighted encouraging global examples — Bhutan’s carbon-negative status, Costa Rica’s near-total shift to renewable energy, and China’s emergence as the world leader in wind power — offering students a vision of what collective commitment can achieve.
After the indoor programme, participants gathered on the school veranda to release the environment-themed posters drawn by students. Fr Joy Kachappilly released the posters and invited students to keep the three Rs of environmental protection in mind: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle — a practical and memorable guide for daily life. Fr Jecky Sangma then proposed a warm vote of thanks, bringing the formal proceedings to a close.
The programme concluded with a group photograph and the planting of saplings — a fitting symbol of the community’s pledge to a greener future. As the animators reminded participants, the true celebration of the environment lies not in a single day’s events but in the sustained, responsible choices made every day thereafter.
News Courtesy: Fr Joy Kachappilly SDB
