Earth Hour is a global event, held on the last Saturday of March annually. Vasant Valley School has joined the initiative to turn off all the lights on Saturday, 27th March, 2010 between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.

"Every little bit that we do adds up to make a huge difference"

'Meri Dill Meri Yamuna'

The 16th of March saw the launch of the Art of Living initiative- 'Meri Dill Meri Yamuna' a project for making a difference to our city of Delhi-NCR. We as members of the Environment and Outreach Council were part of the students group who participated in the inaugural session of the launch of this programme. What started as an initiative of The Art of Living, has now become a full blown citizen’s action plan. Dozens of civil society groups have already joined the movement and many companies including Microsoft, Educomp and Kent RO have become partners. The UNESCO, World Bank, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) etc. among many others are already on board the campaign and more and more people and groups are joining every day. It was indeed amazing to see the thousands who had collected at the Purana Quilla to pledge their support to this initiative. His Holiness Shri Shri Ravi Shankar ji urged all the Delhites present there to join in and make this initiative a great success.

The ballet presented by Salahuddin Pasha and his dancers held our attention- the most commendable aspect of this dance drama being that all the dancers were either on wheel chairs or were hearing impaired. They presented the story of 'Yamuna' and its desire to return to her father God Surya because the people of Delhi were constantly disrespecting her. It was very thought provoking and left all of us thinking of why we were disrespecting this holy river. Are we responsible? Can we take care? Does the Yamuna need a chance to live again, to breathe again and be her original pollution free self again?

The plan is to begin with Yamuna first, our sacred river. Yamuna is immensely important for the economic, ecological and basic needs of the region and its people – but, over the years, it has become one of the most endangered waterway in India. Numerous attempts have not had much success, and there is confusion about what will happen in the near future. We need to join hands and increase the awareness about cleaning of the river Yamuna – more than half of 3.6 billion tonnes of sewerage produced in Delhi everyday flows into Yamuna untreated! And we are dependent on Yamuna for more than 60% of the water needed by the Delhi region. The Meri Dilli Meri Yamuna campaign is organizing this event where the citizens and leaders from all sectors and areas would be participating. This will be followed by a massive cleaning of the banks of Yamuna by the citizens to demonstrate that ‘it is possible to make a difference’. Over the next few weeks, the campaign aims to bring together large number of partner groups and citizens, who will together inspire a million citizens to come out and clean Delhi in September 2010. We came back feeling that we as young citizens of the capital city could surely make a difference. If each of us make our small contribution towards cleaning this river, a small drop in this initiartive,I'm sure that our Yamuna will sonn be sparkling again and we can proudly say- Meri Dilli, Meri Yamuna.
Prarthana Gupta-XII C

GREENATHON-2010

see more pictures

A trip to a Village
Friday,19th February 2010
Class 9
As a part of their Environment program they visited the Mehrauli village, which is one of the seven ancient cities that make up the present state of Delhi.

Mehrauli Visit

"We're going to the Meharauli village today", we were told and instantly, our eyebrows furrowed, as we slowly realized that missing the day at school had come at a price. As we got divided into our groups for the day, our apathetic moods only worsened. However our boredom was transitory because as soon as we reached Kishan Garh village the stench, the dust on the roads, the shabby houses, and the unhygienic appearance of the residents of the village surrounding us shocked us beyond compare.

As our teachers (who took this scene in there stride) talked to us about the village and its inhabitants all I could do was stare. Stare at the construction, stare at the people and stare at the filth that lay almost everywhere you looked. However our teachers soon had us walking towards our first destination in the village, the Ghoushala.

The Ghoushala was a home for cows run by people who were active in the nearby mandir. Some of these cows were blind and all of them were or had been in bad physical condition. The home was run by the donations that were made to the mandir and one could tell that the cows were well looked after.

Next we visited a Gurudwara. This happened to be quite nearby and so we walked. After looking around we left the Gurudwara and arrived at a Sabzi Mandi. By now all of us were thirsty and hungry, not to mention cranky. However all of that disappeared when the all too willing vendors handed us samples of their wares for free. After the Sabzi Mandi we visited the local police station and then made our way over to the Yogmaya Temple.

Yogmaya Temple is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Goddess Yogmaya, the sister of Krishna, and situated close to the Qutb complex. It is widely believed to be one of the five surviving temples from the Mahabharata period in Delhi and it was an awe inspiring structure. After seeing the interior we sat down and had the samosas that our teachers had benevolently got us. All to soon, it was time to go back to school.

This experience exposed us to a new kind of reality. It has changed our perspective, and affected us in more than one way. The excitement, and frolic experienced was tinted with a dark reality. This village, these people, and there lifestyles were in such close proximity with us, yet so far. It seemed like we had stepped into another world altogether. Most of us have never been taken out of our 'comfort zones’, however facing these harsh truths of life, understanding how different our lives are from these villagers, has overall, made us better human beings. It has made us appreciate the luxuries and joys that we so easily get and then take for granted. It has taught us to think of that boy we saw who sat at his doorstep staring at the grapes we put in our mouths outside his home, before wasting food in our plates. It has taught us to remember those girls who wear the same tattered clothes everyday of their lives, before throwing away our T-shirts, and shorts after wearing them only once. But most of all it has taught us to cherish what we have.  This trip is one that can never be forgotten. 

-Namrata Narula and Vasudha Dixit 9C

Class nine’s trip to village Kishangarh

Located between Mehruli and Vasant Kunj is the village of Kishangarh. The students of class nine experienced a day at the village.  We saw that it was quite developed and much higher than our expectations. It was not what we imagined: an entirely urban area with houses that were properly built. In fact, all the houses there had electricity and it was farthest thing from the village we had envisaged. The village had a chaupal – a place where the panchayat met with the villagers in the evening- which also served as a school.  The village was an easy-going place. There was a huge temple with splendid architecture and a home for disabled cows (gowshala). During our trip we bargained with the shopkeepers. We also saw how friendly and hospitable the villagers were as a police officer treated us to a glass of Mirinda. We visited a ‘gurudwara’ which was under construction and a one which was complete where we were offered ‘prasad’. Next we headed towards the ‘Bhool Bhullaiya”, our last destination. That is where all the groups met and ate snacks while sharing our experiences. It was fascinating as we saw the urbanization of a village in the heart of Delhi.

-Shreyas Kadab abd Pia Kochar of 9 B

see pictures

see more pictures here

Save the Yamuna
6th February, 2010

In an effort to provide diverse learning experiences to our children as well as to raise awareness about environment issues, the students of class 7 visited the Yamuna on
Saturday, the 6th February 2010.

It was a Saturday morning; 6th February same old laziness persisted in us. All sleepy but enthusiastic about the trip lead us all the way to the river Yamuna. Mr. Shukla took us to the return to school room to show us a documentary film on the river. The film revolved mainly around the before and after conditions of the Yamuna river. We left from school in our bus and we reached in approximately one and half hours. No sooner did we reach ‘Wazirabad bridge’ did we witness an astonishing site. There was a stark difference in the yamuna that flowed through Delhi and the portion that flowed through Traunica City , Uttar Pradesh.

It was unbelievable! The part of the Yamuna that flowed through Delhi was filthy and black in colour. It had methane fumes coming out which had a pungent odour. There was white foam on the surface of the water and garbage accompanied it. On the other hand the part of the yamuna flowing through UP was comparatively much cleaner. That relieved our hearts to some extent after viewing the previous site. On reaching ‘Tronica City’ which was a much cleaner place, we all roamed about for half an hour exploring the place with great interest. The yamuna looked beautiful and scintillating We were told that only 1% of the pollution in the yamuna is caused due to the slums near the river and the rest is done by us who consider ourselves to be well educated and aware. We believe in differentiating between the rich and the poor or rather the haves and have not but I personally feel we no more have the right to do so. We have taken no advantage what so ever of our education if this is what we provide to our country. We should be ashamed of our deeds. The water we waste while having a bath is what the poor bathe with. It’s rather disheartening to see the river in such a condition. It was a river which was once worshiped and is now a dump yard. I hope we will one day realize the big mistake being committed by us all. We always wait for the government to take a stand but we forget that we run the government. Our government is for the people, of the people and is run by us, the people. So now we should take the stand and the rest will follow.

I am glad that I got an opportunity to go for such a trip and was made to face reality! It was indeed an eye opener. I hope we will keep in mind the next time we litter or pollute the water. This is our country, our own holy river!

Paray Marya

class 7

Ridge Walk

We started the walk at 6:30 in the morning, bleary and tired with the sun still hiding behind the grey clouds. We started from behind school(Vasant vatika road), carrying on to the Nelson Mandela and west gate into the JNU campus. From there we walked through a pretty path of kikar trees, sandy paths and rocks. We spotted peacocks and peahens wandering around untamed and heard birds chirping in the early morning.

Then we had a short climb up to Parthasarthi Rock, the highest natural point in Delhi.

We spotted a Neel Gay, and it was a pretty spot with the sun painting the sky pink and orange. Then, we walked a bit more and reached the school bus waiting for us where we collected our supplies to cook, a portable stove and water. We then walked further into the jungle that is Sanjayvan and sat down at a spot with a beautiful natural garden and a pretty lake with a few birds floating around.

We sat down then ,cut onions and tomatoes and made Maggie, drowning in a lake of butter and watched dogs of all kinds- Mongrels, Labradors, Pugs, Retrievers etc. frolicking around. After that we walked a bit through a small, content looking village and after walking a bit more on roads we saw a small monument called Bhool Bhooliya and thereafter visited an ancient temple(Yogmaya temple) and church.

We saw Qutub Minar, to our surprise; it didn’t seem as if we had walked so much. We weren’t tired at all; we were having so much fun.

To end the enriching and rather exciting experience we walked through the Phool Mandi which was absolutely amazing. We walked through a gully of beautiful flowers and colours- bright orange Marigolds, deep red Roses, purple and blue Orchids, and so many more vibrant and iridescent flowers.

We had walked for nearly five hours, eight kilometers but it all went unnoticed. Quite regretfully, we ended that amazing walk at Ahinsa Sthala!

Ria Bhalla -12

'Resource Conservation'

Lets not tear paper,
Let us feel safer.
Don't cut trees,
Let us sway in the breeze.

Lets use coal judiciously,
Even in a lifetime you cant pay back natures bounty.
fill your glass with as much you'd drink,
Don't throw, don't waste God's own drink- just think!

Shift to solar energy,
Use not created electricity.
This is a cry from nature,
I am just a medium!

By: Shaurya Abhi, VIII A


The conservation of resources

The planet Earth has many resources,
Natural gases, metals and forces.
However, they are rare and dear,
And the amounts we use, I’ll say with fear.

These gifts of nature will soon run out,
And life will take a round about.
As we need resources, like trees, to survive,
And by killing them, you kill many lives!

So it would be most good and wise,
To leave them in the Earth to grow and rise.
Allow each being to breathe and be alive,
So, humans, animals and nature will all thrive!


By,
Riddhima Wahi , VIII A


Conservation of Resources

Resources are nature's present to us,
We should utilize them without making a fuss.
We need to use them wisely and cautiously,
So that they may last us for eternity.
 
Trees, animals, plants,
They all comprise natures grants. 
They come for free,
And we make profits on thee.
But, using them indiscriminately
Not paying heed to Mother Earth's plea.

So save the dying Mother Earth,
She is the one who gave humanity birth,
Before it's too late
Come on, why wait?

By: Taarika Peres, 8-A

Class 9 students visit the Yamuna as a part of their study on Water testing (in Chemistry) and the Environment program

18th Jan 2010

Ongoing Projects in VVS

see more pictures