First practice
1. Title of the practice:
Zero garbage campus and green initiatives.
2. Objective of the practice:
Based on the maxim - “Reduce, reuse, recycle and restrict”, the Institution intends to achieve a better campus ambience with a clean and green environment. Institutional mechanism is in place to deal with garbage collection, segregation and safe disposal
3. The context:
The college campus is considered to be the second home to the students and the employees and thus they need to be motivated to keep it clean and green. Instead of administrative regulations, the Institution encourages self-regulation to address the challenges of maintaining an eco-friendly behavioral attitude. Regular awareness drives and collective efforts are the key ingredients of the exercise.
4. The practice:
The practice of maintaining a clean and green campus at Gurucharan College involves active participation of the college fraternity instead of solely depending on the paid services for collecting garbage. Plantation drive is a regular exercise while garbage collection is carried out on a day-to-day basis. Garbage is segregated and kept in prescribed bins meant for different types of waste. The Silchar municipal authority collects the waste from the campus and disposes them in designated landfills. The litter and paper waste are dumped in waste pits in the college premises which are properly covered once filled. However, concern remains about disposal of hazardous chemicals, bio-wastes and e- wastes in the campus.
5. Evidence of success:
Over the years, increasing student enrolment numbers and consequent infrastructural development have created a burgeoning problem of garbage and swelling of built up area. However, after the implementation of the clean and green campus initiative, we were able to address the precarious problems of waste burden and their proper handling. Planned landscaping of the college premise and intensive plantation have qualitatively increased the green cover. Enhanced awareness level among the students in particular has made significant behavioral change and positively addressed the menace of garbage. Being located amidst an urban crowd, the ambient air quality and scenic beauty of the campus is encouraging.
6. Problems Encountered and Resources Required:
The Institution requires an incinerator for perishing the growing burden of garbage, particularly the plastics. Irregular services of the local Municipal Board sometimes lead to overflowing waste and foul smell. The natural uneven topography of the campus creates a serious problem of water logging in low lying open areas where waste pits are commonly excavated. Alternative materials for serving in the cafeteria and during mass-gathering need to be promoted.
7. Notes (Optional):
Concepts like Waste Credit Service may be introduced as part of waste management practices in the college besides incentivizing less garbage production initiatives. In view of depleting open areas for further plantation, innovative methods like rooftop gardening, vertical gardening, etc. may be adopted to increase the campus greenery.
Second practice
1. Title of the practice:
Bird watching or birding activity.
2. Objective of the practice:
To locate and identify different bird species.
3. The context:
Practice of watching birds including its identification, habits and behavior.
4. The practice:
The college took part in the campus bird count as a part of the great backyard bird count in India for the last four years.
5. Evidence of success:
Many students have learnt the usage of mobile phone app for bird watching and identification.
6. Problems Encountered and Resources Required:
Due to urbanization, the bird species have become very rare and deforestation leads to difficulty in finding the bird species.
7. Notes (Optional):
Bird watching became popular and students started to take interest in various aspects of birds, locating and identifying.