BHOPAL, India: Church programs provided key insights into environmental issues for two secondary school girls, insights they shared at the recent UN summit on climate change, they said.

Ramsha Sajid and Adya Dubey of Carmel Convent Higher Secondary School in Bhopal won a nationwide essay competition to join the country's 43-member delegation to the summit, led by the environment minister on Dec. 20.

The Church in Madhya Pradesh organized a public function to honor the two girls, their guide to the meeting and their school principal.

Sajid, a Muslim 10th-grader, said the Church's Matr Chaav Abhiyan (The Mother Earth Movement), launched in 50 Catholic schools in the state in July, had inspired her to focus on environmental issues.

Under the project, students from grades five to nine each plant at least one sapling and care for them over three years.

Sajid said her school's own tree-planting program, called "Save our Green Gold," also gave her the impetus to promote green policies.

"I took it up as a personnel mission and started planting saplings outside our residential complex," Sajid said. She also encouraged her neighbors to become involved.

Dubey, a Hindu, said the delegates in Copenhagen were enthusiastic about learning different ways of protecting the environment.

The 12th-grader said she and Sajid suggested to delegates that they could shut down monitors when computers were not in use, use pollution-free carry bags, and other environment-friendly practices. "These suggestions were taken note of and appreciated," she said.

The girls' guide, Sujata Srivastava, said the school promotes environmental protection as a top priority. "We cannot imagine living in conditions where there are no clean air, water and greenery," she said.

School principal Sister Reji said the school encourages its students and teachers to act positively to address environmental protection rather than just talk about it.

Father Anand Muttungal, who initiated the Church's green movement in the state, said the Church strives for "a healthy life in a healthy environment" and wants more people to become environmentally conscious.

Courtesy: UCAN