THE SMALL EARTH NEPAL

Under the Landslide Environmental Virtual Observatories (L-EVO) project, 5 Eco Clubs were formed in 5 schools (2 in Bajhang and 3 in Bajura) in August 2022 to educate and engage school students in environmental issues and their management.

In December 2022, these Eco Clubs organized programs such as speech and quiz contests related to environmental awareness, climate change, and disaster risk reduction. In two schools speech competitions and in three schools, quiz competitions were organized. These programs informed and increased students’ knowledge of climate change, climate-induced disasters, and the environment. The main topic for the speech and quiz contests was “Role of Students in Environmental Conservation” and the active participation of the students was observed with invaluable support from the school teachers and the involvement of communities.

For the speech competition, the winners were Mr. Kamal Bista from Laligurans Eco Club, Sunkuda HSS of Bajhang, and Ms. Tinam Joshi from Thuma Eco Club, Thuma HSS of Bajura. For the quiz competitions, the winning teams were Kedar House (4 participants) with Mr. Prakash Bdr. Chhati, Mr. Ramesh Bista, Ms. Kusha Bohora and Ms. Nirmala Thami from Deveswori Eco Club; Team Bardiya House (4 participants) with Ms. Gita Rawat, Mr. Naresh Rawat, Mr. Dayabir Rawat and Ms. Lalita Kathayat from Saraswoti Eco Club; and Buddhinanda House (5 participants) with Ms.Sumitra Joshi, Ms. Dipika Adhikari, Mr. Laxman Raj Upadhaya, Mr. Bhuvan Raj Jaisi and Mr. Niruta Jaisi, Pashupati Eco Club. They were awarded cash prizes and participation certificates by the chief guests Dr. Dhiraj Pradhananga (President, SEN; Associate Professor, Tribhuvan University) and Dr. Bhanu Neupane (Advisor for ICT, UNESCO-Paris).    

During the same events, a short training was conducted for the students of Eco Clubs of all five schools on soil moisture measurement using soil moisture meters which was facilitated by Tribikram Basnet (Research Assistant, SEN). They were also informed about the importance and various uses of soil moisture data. Soil moisture meters were handed to all five Eco Clubs of respective schools and provided a short hands-on training on installation, operation, maintenance, and data gathering from these meters. The training was a great approach to help in the development of the  Scientist-Teacher-Student-Community approach in rural areas of Nepal.