What does World Environment Day’ on June 6 mean to you? It should mean a lot of things to us human of the species because our single species has damaged the all-giving and all-generous Mother Earth the most. With our overwhelming concretization of the good earth we literally sign our own death warrant, with our never ending urban cities, towns and ugly sprawling slums where the poor and humble underprivileged daily wage earners eke out a living. The earth’s quote of dirty air, dirty water and dirty food is growing and it should fill our hearts with fear, real fear which both rich and poor should feel! It is imperative we live eco-friendly, sustainable lifestyles…come up with more ways to live in harmony with Mother Earth. Most agree but few put this sentiment into practice to show the way! ThisWorld Environment Day’ let us pledge anew to put Mother Earth on the path of becoming a garden of paradise anew. May we, the civilized, educated and Mother Earth-fearing work towards restoring our habitat as a garden of paradise for all living things here today, gone tomorrow, and nothing less than this. Incidentally, this year’s `World International Day’ comes on the Hindu festival of woman called Vat Poornima – when married (and unmarried!) women fast and worship the great banyan or vat tree for the health and longevity of their husbands and men folk in general! The grand banyan is perhaps the earth’s only joint family tree, signifying longevity and offering shelter from top to bottom to a myriad birds and creatures of our one and only one of a kind beautiful Mother Earth. This is what various opinion-makers have to say…
Dr. Pankaj Naik,
Consultant anaesthesiologist and intensivist, Healthway Hospital
This lockdown has got many of us thinking about how we can adopt a more sustainable lifestyle while also encouraging our children to do the same.
The monsoons are here. This is the ideal time to plant trees and plants, be in the garden or in pots. I’m encouraging my children to pot plants and take care of them. There is joy in watching a plant grow and flower.
I also encourage my children to avoid single use plastic even if it may seem convenient. Instead it’s better to opt for stainless steel and glass containers.
Plantation drives along the highways and areas around Healthway Hospital are a good initiative we aim to follow. Measures are also being implemented at the hospital to go paperless by introduction of IT measures. Water conservation and rainwater harvesting are measures we all need to adopt to replenish the water table
At the residential complex where I reside, we follow segregation of waste at our home and colony level and disposing of wet waste to create composting which is used as a natural fertilizer for plants. Thanks to that our colony has wonderful green spaces where children and adults can play and go on long walks.
And lastly, I am an avid cyclist hence have encouraged my children to take up cycling. Encouraging non motorised vehicle options such as cycles and electrical bikes are a good option to alternate means of transportation.
Kenneth Ryan
Fernandes,
Student, Goa Institute of Management
Students are important figures in the drive to fight climate change. Business students are more vital as they will be managing important corporate positions in the future. Their views will drive the organization’s ideologies for sustainability. For me, conserving and protecting the environment has always been a higher priority than financial profitably. I bought a bicycle to help commute locally and reduce my dependence on motor vehicles. Every year, for the last few years, I have been planting 7-8 trees to offset my family’s oxygen consumption and reach one step closer to my goal of being carbon-neutral.Nelissa Alcasoas,
Asst. Prof , V.M. Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Education
Learning at VMSIIHE includes sensitizing students to the environment they live in. Big changes are made up of small healthy habits that add up over time. Students habituate themselves to switching off lights, carpooling, correct garbage disposal, emptying old water for plants, organic gardening on campus, having water bowls for birds especially in summer, using glass water bottles etc. Beyond the campus, students organise beach cleaning and e-collection drives. This culture will sustain with future batches. Personally, I am working towards achieving a zero waste lifestyle as that will have an overall impact on the environment. Cooking fresh food at home and making toiletries from kitchen ingredients help to contribute to waste reduction.Nathaniel D’Costa,
Senior Manager – Community Football, Forca Goa Foundation
Currently there’s a lot of focus on sustainability and getting back to farming. Through the Forca Goa Foundation, we will continue to teach children we work with the importance of waste management and segregation and hope to develop a program this year where we can teach children the joys of growing their own food.
Prof. Irfan Mirza,
Principal/Director of VMSIIHE
If the lockdown has taught us one thing that it is crucial to nurture and protect our natural environment for a cleaner and greener future for the generations to come.
As we at VMSIIHE are part of the hospitality sector, our aim is to make efforts to ensure sustainable practices to protect the tourism industry. Growth in the tourism sector globally has had a significant impact on the population. One of the fallouts of the industry is its impact on the environment.
Our efforts as an academic institute is to sensitise young minds on the need to protect our natural resources are the environment we live in. Only if the environment is protected, will we be able to achieve a sustainable tourism model. On world environment day, I urge every individual to do their part, no matter how big or small, and take care of the environment, so that our children will have a better future.
