Background

Ineffective waste management and a lack of ecological awareness can be attributed as leading causes of environmental degradation. This very phenomenon is a serious issue across India. Both, public health and personal well-being are directly impacted by pollution and overflowing landfills resulting from unchecked urbanization. As the population grows in tandem with globalization, there has been a drastic shift in consumer consumption patterns. Moreover, younger generations will inherit these environmental challenges as a result of this pervasive crisis. There is a growing consensus that basic environmental literacy ingrained in daily life is essential. Especially in educational systems, which can be regarded as the first stop for effective climate action and the adoption of sustainable practices.

Yet, most primary schools often neither have the required means nor programs specifically designed to teach effective environmental stewardship to their students. Though present curricula may address ecologically related subjects, there is still a great deficit in offering exciting, experiential learning opportunities bridging theoretical environmental matters with concrete, quotidian actions. For instance, the baseline knowledge pertaining to waste segregation among Indian children was recorded to be as low as 61% before any interventions (American India Foundation, 2024).

These shortcomings result in younger students frequently not having the necessary knowledge of the environmental effects of everyday household objects and how to responsibly handle or repurpose waste. It is exactly this pressing need for readily available, hands-on, and localized environmental teaching that is the basis of the SchoolCycle initiative.

Source:

https://aif.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/SMSMR-Endline-Report.pdf 

Or 

American India Foundation. (2024). Support My School Mission Recycling Project Phase 3 Endline Report. Retrieved from https://aif.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/SMSMR-Endline-Report.pdf