Eco Schools Enhance Health, Wellness And Academic Performance

8 – 10 hours in school, 2 hours at tuition, over an hour travelling to and from school, 2 – 3 hours extra-curricular and about 8 hours, sleeping – That’s exactly the routine of every child below the age of 12. Practically, Children spend more hours in school than adults do in office, you may think that’s good as schools are shaping their future – But do you know what are they facing when in school – exposure to harmful toxins, inferior indoor air quality, acoustics, ‘0’ daylighting, thermal discomfort, and no access to nature. Simply put, the indoor environment of the school is adversely affecting the children’s health and wellness.

Amid this chaos, Eco Schools is one rapidly growing wonder, which is encouraging more and more schools to engage in their environment and actively protect it for the welfare of our little generation.

Let’s understand the concept of eco schools now – It all begins in the classroom, expands to the school and ultimately fosters change. It lays a lot of emphasis on, reducing or eliminating harmful toxins, improving indoor air quality, maintain appropriate acoustic conditions, ensures thermal comfort, allows ample of natural lighting, and has a lot of green space (access to nature).

Eco schools empower students, improves the school environment, raises environmental awareness, and also creates huge financial savings for schools. In addition to that, it also engages the wider local community, links to the curriculum and can help deliver great results – like improved child’s health, concentration, performance, and attendance. Owing to the wide-ranging benefits, many schools in India are proactively turning environment-friendly. Here are some astounding numbers, today in India schools that (Source):

• Use solar power – 199
• Practise rainwater harvesting – 434
• Treat Wastewater – 269
• Segregate Waste At Source – 917
• Practice composting – 581
• Dispose off their e-waste responsibly by sending it to back to dealers, manufacturers or dismantlers – 403

Impressive isn’t it? Now, let’s draw some inspiration from the top 5 eco schools in India.

Top 5 Eco Schools In India

Low water use, low waste generation, energy efficiency, harvesting and recycling of water, and yes providing a healthier space for the children – These 5 schools are doing an exceptional job.

1. Delhi Public School (DPS), Patna, Bihar

Delhi Public School located in Patna, Bihar is one of the most shining examples of resource efficiency. They efficiently harvest rainwater, segregate waste, and are designed to be energy efficient. In addition to that, the school has totally banned junk food and packaged juices inside its campus. The students well understand the effects of air pollution, hence, around 97 percent of the population of the school commutes by school buses; rest of them either take a cycle to school or walk.

2. The Fab India School, Pali, Rajasthan

The rich green campus playfields, outdoor auditorium, water harvesting system and forest area create a perfectly child-friendly and creative environment which tones with the open green space. The school has been doing an exceptional job in waste management, water management, and energy efficiency. The school installed 13.5 kiloWatts (kW) of solar power, which provides them with nearly 90 percent of the energy requirements. Each classroom employs 2 waste bins and all their food and horticulture waste is sent to compost. Around one year back they began harvesting rainwater.

3. Kendriya Vidyalaya, Army Cantt, Pangode, Kerala

Established in the year 1980, this eco school is a co-educational school located in Army Cantt. Pangode, Thirumala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. More than 50% of the entire school campus is under green cover. Around 71 percent of the school population uses green modes of transport and 8 percent use cycle or simply walk down. Waste generated in the school is used as fuel for the biogas plant, which ensures a consistent supply of gas. Plastic is totally banned inside the school campus. The school also channels the water through trenches which recharges the school’s groundwater, and some of it is even allowed to flow down to the nearby forests.

4. Kendriya Vidyalaya, Ottapalam, Kerala

From massive savings in energy bills for over a year, to complete solar energy powered administrative block, this school also has a waste storage capacity of 50 kg and a biogas plant which produces around 10 kg of gas. The school campus also actively practices the principle of ‘Reduce Your Trash,’. With the renovation of an old rainwater harvesting structure, the campus has been able to store nearly 50 thousand litres of rainwater, and they put this stored water into use in toilets, mopping and gardening requirements. In addition to all this, only 1 percent of the school population hinges on private vehicles for commuting.

5. Others

While the above-mentioned schools are performing great in many categories together, there are a few which have been doing well in individual categories in being eco schools:

• East Point School, Delhi – Energy Efficiency
• Gyanodaya Vidya Mandir, Damoh, Madhya Pradesh – Water Management
• Indirapuram Public School, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh – Waste Management
• Kendriya Vidyalaya 1, RCF, Kapurthala, Punjab – Air Quality

The Pragyan School, Uttar Pradesh, DRV Dav Centenary Public School, Punjab, Choithram International, Madhya Pradesh and New Digamber Public School, Madhya Pradesh are other popular schools doing great on the eco meter.

Final Thoughts

Our environment is poisoned, we don’t have fresh air to breathe, no natural light, our rivers are destroyed – But the future is in our hands, we have the power to bring change. These Eco Schools are truly an inspiration on how we together can build our future by promising a better environment for our children.

Building a healthy and comfortable environment for children in school is always a challenge and one of the main portions of this complex process includes deciding which walling materials to use, and why. A walling material for a school building can make the children feel comfortable within it and also serves as a learning tool. And, since comfort inside classrooms is directly related to the learning experience, correct choice of walling material is crucial. Considering a school environment, Porotherm Smart Bricks can go long way in:

• Reducing Student Sick Days and Improve Children’s Health
• Ensure Higher Teacher and Student Retention
• Impressive Energy Savings
• Protect the Environment

Many educational institutions, schools & colleges across South India have used Porotherm… To view, a representative list of the schools and educational institutions click here.