Ideas to save the planet- Start with the kids!

The Bible says "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."(Proverbs 22:6)

Children learn a lot from their parents and the environment around them. So its only natural that if they see people around them doing their bit to save the planet they imbibe those ideas and follow and improve upon them for the rest of their life .

Things like switching off the lights and other electrical appliances when not needed, recycling and reusing things in innovative ways instead of throwing them away as soon as their original purpose is served. My grandpa once told me when I was 7 years old "save a thing for seven years and it will come to use" I took it to my heart and find myself re-inventing old items in really creative new ways- It keeps my brain from sitting idle- as you know- "an idle mind is the devil's workshop". That way I do not have to buy new stuff all the time.

Another way that can be initited in schools would be to inculcate in kids the desire to protect and save their possessions like books. Students should be encouraged to maintain their belongings, like textbooks, in good condition and donate them at the end of the year. There should be extra credits and rewards to reinforce such behavior. Those schools that insist on having kids cover their books with uniform material should instead have no such requirement.Just use of old newspapers would go a long way in saving a few extra trees every year.

Talking of trees; instead of having a tree plantation event every year on Environment Day, we can go a step forward- hand over the planted tree to the student- he/she cares for and protects it. Ownership teaches responsibility and in this way they help protect the environment and learn great life skills!!