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Time of India
2 days ago
- General
- Time of India
School adds creative touch to dolphin conservation pledge
Mangaluru: The Govt High School, Badaga Yekkar, has gone beyond merely following a directive to administer a pledge on dolphin conservation. It has turned the exercise into a full-fledged awareness campaign. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now As part of the govt's initiative, schools were asked to make students take a pledge on dolphin protection. However, English teacher Anith Kumar said the team wanted to give it more depth. "As soon as we received the order, we began researching dolphins in India and realised how vital their conservation is. One striking fact was that dolphins thrive only in clean water, which explains why they are found in the Brahmaputra and Ganga. However, over the years with increasing pollution, the species are facing a threat," he noted. The school prepared a multimedia presentation with videos, which teacher Ramya, coordinator of Vanasiri Eco Club, presented the same to the students. The pledge focused on respecting and protecting dolphins and their habitats, avoiding pollution of water bodies, rejecting activities that exploit these mammals, and actively supporting conservation. Students also learnt about Project Dolphin, launched on Aug 15, 2020, which aims to conserve marine and riverine dolphins through habitat protection, research, and community awareness, he said. To make the learning interactive, the school organised a drawing competition on Indian dolphins, encouraging children to explore the species further. The event held recently saw participation from about 75 students.
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Govt high school uses hydroponics to grow food for midday meals
1 2 Mangaluru: A govt high school in Badaga Yekkar, which has a space constraint to have its own kitchen garden for midday meals, found a new way to grow food through hydroponics technique. Hydroponics is a method of growing crops in water mixed with nutrients. On a trial basis, they started with amaranth and lady finger and are planning to add more crops based on the success. "The 15-year-old school with over 138 students faced land constraints. The total land is around 50 cents, and we have fully covered the available land, including a small kitchen garden, where produce is used for Akshara Dasoha (midday meal programme). However, the produce was insufficient to cater to our midday meal, and to increase the produce, we had no land. Therefore, I decided to try hydroponics to address the shortage," said Anith Kumar, a teacher at the school. The initiative was kicked off with help from the eco club led by Ramya K, a teacher at the school. In the available land at the school, they have grown curry leaves, spinach and black pepper. The yield supports the midday meal programme or Akshara Dasoha. Kumar told TOI: "We started the process a few days ago, and results so far are encouraging. It was launched as a part of World Environment Day celebrations. The advantage of this technique is that it requires less space and uses 80% less water. There are no diseases to the crop, unlike those grown in soil, and the product output is higher," said Kumar, adding that pesticides are not used to grow the crop. Currently, they have sowed amaranth crop in two trays and lady finger in one. Kumar said they are expecting the amaranth crop to be ready in another 45 days. He said as they are doing it for the first time, it will be a trial-and-error method. The technique requires major nutrients of potassium, calcium, nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, sulphur and other micronutrients. The pH level should be maintained strictly while preparing the solution, Kumar said. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Govt school tags its trees, saplings with QR codes
Mangaluru: In a unique initiative to blend technology with environmental awareness , the Vanasiri Eco Club of Govt High School, Badaga Yekkar, tagged newly planted saplings and trees on campus with QR codes that provide detailed information about each plant. Headmistress Indira N Rao told TOI that the idea came from a directive by the education department encouraging schools to celebrate Earth Day meaningfully. "The department suggested using QR codes for saplings. Our mathematics teacher Ramya K developed the codes, with support from English teacher Anith Kumar," she said. Each QR code provides information such as the plant's scientific name, uses, importance, region of growth, and common name. "We also taught the students how QR codes are created. This helps them understand the relevance and importance of the plants better," the headmistress said. The school, which earlier lost its green cover to road widening, received 13 saplings donated by farmer and former teacher Ronald Fernandes. These were planted along the newly constructed compound wall, which was built with the support of Mulki-Moodbidri MLA Umanath Kotian. Class 10 students have now been given the responsibility of nurturing the saplings for a year. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Taylor Swift Goes Natural, Here's How She Really Looks The Noodle Box Undo The school, which had 132 students last academic year, has so far seen 32 new enrolments in Class 8. Headmistress Rao credited Anith Kumar for his role in the QR code project and other tech initiatives. Kumar also introduced a multilingual school news bulletin, presented by students in Kannada, English, Hindi, Beary, Konkani, and Tulu. Each month, the bulletin is recorded in one language. A studio setup is created, and the recording is done using a mobile phone, she said. The school's students also recently participated in a national-level kho kho tournament in Chennai. PT teacher Vidyalatha leads the sports team, which is now practising for an upcoming match. She added that they have been participating actively and winning prizes in sports and cultural events.
