Spreading Environmental Awareness Through Environmental Education in Schools: The Case Study of a Sikkimese Green School

Abstract

The subject of environmental education (EE) in India, also known as environment studies (EVS), was introduced through the intervention of the Supreme Court of India (SC). At that time, there was also global recognition towards the creation of ‘environmental citizens’ through inculcating environmental awareness in school-going children, with the motto of ‘catch them young’. Since then, EE in India has seen an evolution in itself through enveloping the studies of various topics related to the natural environment. However, one of the concerns has been that it is taught in a theoretical manner and that since it is not treated as a graded subject, schools have not given it the importance it deserves. However, the study of a green school of the Himalayan state of Sikkim shows that active participation of state machinery, coupled with a practical interpretation of its principles, can lead to positive results. It also shows that the creation of environmental citizens needs a holistic approach, through both amalgamation of theory with practice and syllabus with stringent state intervention and results-oriented action. This article, which uses doctrinal, as well as field research, techniques of interview and observation, looks into these aspects through studying a school in a mountain village of West Sikkim in India.