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

Introduction

Creating environmental citizens has been one of the foremost intentions of the environmental education (EE) movement in India, as well as abroad. The Tibilisi Declaration, 1977, a slew of measures by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India (SC), the overall green movement in the world, as well as in India, louder voices about environmental concerns like pollution and global warming, et cetera have significantly increased the initiatives towards the introduction of EE from the primary school education level itself.

This article covers a background analysis of the factors, both global and national, that led to the move towards the introduction of EE in India. Then, it covers a case analysis of a school in Sikkim, considered the greenest state in India, to understand the initiatives taken by the state to encourage environmentalism amongst school children.

International Initiatives

The foremost step towards the formalization of EE at the international level for the preservation and improvement of the world’s environment was recognized in the first ever global Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education organized by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) held on 14–26 October 1977 at Tbilisi, Georgia (USSR). It was in continuance of the recognition in the Stockholm Declaration, 1972, ² for ‘new strategies’ for the improvement of the environment and the Belgrade Charter, 1975, ³ that the global framework for environment education was laid out.

The Tbilisi Declaration, 1977, as it came to be known as, was adopted at the end of the conference. ⁴ It laid down the framework, principles and guidelines for EE with the intent that the role, objectives and characteristics of environment education should be to spread awareness at the local, national, regional and international levels with the aim to educate people of all age groups, both inside and outside the formal school system. In order to work towards this goal, the conference adopted a criterion to help guide efforts to develop EE at the national, regional and global levels.

The conference set out the goals of EE as: to foster clear awareness of, and concern about, economic, social, political and ecological interdependence in urban and rural areas; to provide every person with opportunities to acquire the knowledge, values, attitudes, commitment and skills needed to protect and improve the environment; and to create new patterns of behaviour amongst individuals, groups and society as a whole towards the environment. To work towards this end, it was proposed to use formal, as well as non-formal, education and mass media.

The objectives of EE as laid down by the conference were to create ‘awareness’ to help social groups and individuals acquire awareness about and sensitivity towards the natural environment and its allied problems, ensure that ‘knowledge’ increased through a variety of experiences so as to acquire a basic understanding of the environment and its associated problems, foster an ‘attitude’ to acquire a set of values and feelings of concern for the environment and the motivation for actively participating in environmental improvement and protection, facilitate the acquisition of ‘skills’ for identifying and solving environmental problems and ensure ‘participation’ of these groups and individuals through an opportunity to be actively involved at all levels in working towards resolution of environmental problems.

The conference also laid out the Guiding Principles of Environmental Education, through which its aim was to ensure that the environment was understood in its natural, technological and social aspects and that education about environment remained a lifelong process. Furthermore, EE was also to have an interdisciplinary approach to all local, national and international environmental concerns, so that an awareness of environmental concerns from other geographical areas was gained by every student. One guiding principle was also to ensure that current environmental problems were looked into from a historical perspective and ensure participation not only in critical thinking but also in problem solving, with due stress on practical activities and first-hand experience.

The Brundtland Report, 1987, ⁵ also introduced a concept of sustainability known as ‘our common future’, through which the proposal for ‘Sustainable development’ was made for the first time. The report also proposed that ‘vast campaigns of education’ on sustainable development be carried out by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), educational institutions and the scientific community for ‘public awareness’, in order ‘to put the world into a sustainable development path’.

The History of Environment Education in India

The proposal for the incorporation of EE in the school curriculum has been a familiar feature in India since the Kothari Commission (1964–1966), which suggested that scientific inquiry should be developed amongst school children in such a way that they develop a deep understanding of the problem-solving and analytical skills required for implementation of solutions to the problems of the material environment. ⁶

The relevance of EE in the school curriculum in India was reiterated by the Tiwari Committee (1980), ⁷ after which it received huge impetus. It was on the basis of the recommendations of this committee that the national curriculum framework was formulated to create an awareness about the natural environment through education in schools, as well as in society, at all levels. Also, it was through this committee’s suggestion that a separate governmental department to govern the environment was initiated. ⁸ This has culminated in the present Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), which regulates EE in India in collaboration with the state-wise departments of the environment and forests.

The genesis of EE as a subject started in India from the National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986. ⁹ EE in the school curriculum was formally introduced by the National Curriculum for Elementary and Secondary Education, 1988, ¹⁰ as a result of which environmental concerns were infused into the NCERT model textbooks between 1987 and 1989.

The EE division of the MoEF was set up in 1984 to promote EE by the then Ministry of Environment and now the MoEF, Government of India (GOI), with the aim of imparting EE awareness and training. ¹¹

The need for centres of excellence, with a partnership between the government and NGOs to promote EE, was felt to be much needed, and the Centre for Environmental Education (CEE) was also established in 1984 as a centre of excellence by the MoEF to promote environmental awareness nationwide through developing innovative programmes and educational material and also to promote EE to create awareness about sustainable development. ¹² The CEE has also been designated as the national Environmental Information System (ENVIS) centre for EE in India. In 1988, the C. P. Ramaswamy Environmental Education Centre (CPREEC) was also set up as another centre of excellence.

It may be said that the strict introduction of EE as a compulsory subject was catalysed by the judgement and later a series of interim orders passed by the Hon’ble SC in the case of M. C. Mehta v. Union of India, ¹³ also popularly known as the ‘Environmental Education Case’. By the order dated 22.11.1991 in [W.P. (C) No. 860 of 1991], the Hon’ble SC recognized that the state must ensure that it creates environmental awareness amongst students through the medium of education. This was done through a direction to the state governments and concerned authorities to introduce compulsory education on the environment up to the matriculation stage or even the intermediate stage in a graded way.

The hearing was on the interim application filed by the petitioner seeking three main reliefs. The first one was that appropriate directions be issued to cinema halls that they exhibit slides containing messages on the environment and environmental pollution, free of cost. The second relief that was sought was that directions be issued to the effect that information relating to environmental awareness is broadcasted by the All India Radio and televisions in various national and regional languages through the medium of short films and programmes. The third relief that was sought was that EE be made a compulsory subject in educational institutions in a graded system.

In effect, the directions issued by the Hon’ble SC in this interim application was also the first time that the information and broadcasting system was to be used to educate the masses about environmental pollution and environmental protection in India. The Hon’ble SC issued directions to the central government to instruct the state and union governments to make issuance of licenses to cinema halls and video parlours conditional upon them undertaking to show at least two slides per show spreading awareness on environmental degradation and protection. The Ministry of Environment was also directed to come out with effective slide material that carried messages relating to environmental protection to the audience. The compliance was also to be supervised by licensing authorities, and failure to comply was to be treated as grounds for cancellation of the license of the cinema halls and video parlours. Directions were also issued to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, GOI, to produce short films on environmental degradation and pollution to educate the masses about environmental hazards. The main government-owned broadcasting services, Doordarshan and All India Radio, were also directed to broadcast short programmes for 5–7 minutes between their daily programmes and a longer one once a week.

The Hon’ble SC also directed that EE be made a compulsory subject to be taught at universities and in schools, thus giving a tremendous thrust to the implementation of EE in schools. To this effect, the University Grants Commission (UGC) was asked to prescribe a course on the environment to be taught as a compulsory subject in colleges at all levels, while the state governments were directed to order their respective education boards to introduce EE up to Standard XII and to take steps to ensure that the subject was introduced in a graded way. Compliance with all these three directions was to be enforced by 01.02.1992.

On the hearing dated 18.12.2003, the petitioner, Mr M. C. Mehta, brought it to the notice of the Hon’ble SC that these directions were not complied with, in that the steps taken were insufficient and not in conformity with the spirit and object of the above-mentioned order of the Hon’ble SC. Moreover, it was also submitted that the different states at that point of time had adopted different methods, which were basic in their characteristics and did not fulfil the requirements of the directions issued by the Hon’ble SC. The petitioner also suggested the states and other authorities to prescribe a suitable syllabus by way of a subject on environmental awareness not only at the primary level of education but also in the higher courses leading up to even the postgraduate level.

Important bodies dealing with school education and education standards in India, such as the UGC, NCERT and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), went ahead to frame a syllabus. This uniform syllabus was to frame the standards by which the subject of EE was to be taught at different levels in schools all over the country. The respondent states were asked to ensure that the syllabus was implemented from the academic year 2004–2005, if not already complied with. The order of the Hon’ble SC after these two hearings on the writ petition is important, because it paved the way for the government, as well as significant central authorities involved in school and university education in India, to create a blue print for EE in India.

Via an interim order dated 22.04.2004, the Hon’ble SC accepted the syllabus prepared by the NCERT and placed before it in a report. The syllabus had been prepared by the NCERT in consultation with the state governments and other authorities concerned with education in schools and at higher levels. The NCERT was also appointed as a nodal agency for monitoring the implementation of the same. A request was also made by the petitioner for directions that teachers be trained on subjects relating to the environment, but the same was reserved for future orders.

This interim order was followed by another order dated 13.07.2004 whereby the respective schools of each state were directed to follow the syllabus prepared by the NCERT for Standards I–XII. The NCERT was made the nodal agency to ensure that this order was complied with, and the petitioner was given the discretion to approach the court in case of non-compliance by any state. The UGC was found to be already complying with the same, and it was further directed to supervise the states and other higher educational institutions. Via an interim order dated 03.01.2010, permission was sought to review and modify the syllabus to bring it in consonance with the National Curriculum Framework, 2005 (NCF).

It was as late as 2014 that the non-compliance of the order of the Hon’ble SC in the WP 860/1991 and the subsequent order of the UGC dated 24.07.2003, by which notice had been issued to all universities to compulsorily implement the syllabus formulated by it for undergraduate students, was brought to the notice of those universities that had not done so. ¹⁴ Currently, most of the states have inculcated EE into their educational curriculum and framework.

Initiatives Relating to Environment Education

The primary responsibility for the promotion of environmental awareness amongst the citizens of India after these directions of the Hon’ble SC fell with the government. After that, a series of initiatives were undertaken by the MoEF through its Environment Education Division (EED). ¹⁵ The EED launched Environment Education Awareness and Training (EEAT) schemes to promote environmental awareness amongst all sections of the society through EE. The first target was the revamping of the formal education system, whereby the focus was on facilitating the development of teaching aids and training of manpower to spread environmental awareness. The other crucial targets were NGOs, who were encouraged to spread awareness through the use of different forms of audiovisual and print media.

The centres of excellence of the MoEF, like the CEE and CPREEC, focus on the development of environmental resource material, organization of training programmes and creation of environmental awareness amongst teachers, students and the general community. The Gobar Times Green Schools National Awards of the CEE is one such initiative whereby schools are assessed on the basis of a process called ‘Environment Audit’ on various predetermined factors; subsequently, their ranks are determined. ¹⁶ The CEE had integrated most of its school initiatives into an umbrella programme called the ‘National Environmental Education Programme for Schools’ (NEEPS). ¹⁷ The NEEPS has been formulated in partnership with the CEE and NGOs, whereby a ‘cluster’ or group of schools are supported and funded in the imparting of EE.

The National Environment Awareness Campaign (NEAC) was launched in 1986 by the EED with the aim of providing nominal financial assistance to organize awareness-raising and action-oriented activities at the national level. ¹⁸ Themes are selected on an annual basis ¹⁹ to raise awareness, and guidelines have been set to be followed in promoting these themes. The NEAC was to be further facilitated through the establishment of the Regional Resource Agencies (RRAs) appointed by the MoEF to conduct and monitor its activities.

The National Green Corps Programme (NGCP) ²⁰ was launched in 2001–2002 by the MoEF in partnership with state government agencies and NGOs working through the eco-clubs opened in schools. The eco-clubs are allowed grants-in-aid annually through the NGCP fund. ²¹ Through encouraging the establishment of eco-clubs in schools and other educational institutions across the country, young children are targeted, and awareness about the preservation and protection of the environment is instilled in them. Personnel are trained as master trainers and resource persons to impart the message through their activities, as well as through resource material. The other programmes of the EED include Green Good Deeds, Nature Club Hiking, GLOBE programme, et cetera. ²²

Emphasis was also laid on the organization of conferences, seminars, symposiums and workshops, which are now a common feature in educational institutions, at the secondary, college and university levels. NGOs and citizen groups, experts and specialist collectives are also encouraged to conduct such gatherings where the exchange of ideas relating to the environment leads to building up the knowledge base. The MoEF funds these programmes with the primary aim of encouraging the sharing of knowledge of the environment and ideas and experiences about the promotion of environmentalism.

ENVIS, part of the MoEF, is an online portal created to promote the exchange of information with the stakeholders within and outside the country. It acts as a national environmental information service that has storage, retrieval and dissemination capabilities for educators and trainers of EE in all fields. ²³

Museums of natural history were also set up by the MoEF, with the main museum located in Delhi and regional museums at Mysore, Bhopal and Bhubaneshwar, established as unique facilities to promote non-formal EE and to create environmental awareness amongst people.

The NPE is an extensive document that has been focusing on the creation of the NCF since 1968 under the National Education Framework for all education levels, elementary to university, including adult education. NPE 1986, renewed in 1992, formulated EE for the first time through inclusion of EE right from the elementary-education level. According to the NPE, the ‘protection of the environment is a value which must form an integral part of the curriculum at all stages of education’. The NPE and the CEE of MoEF, in coordination with the state centres for EE, help in carrying out the preparation of the books and educational material on the subject for all levels. The latest NPE 2020 was released on 1 August 2020, and there are not many changes in the structure of EE as a subject in comparison to the last NPE, the NPE of 1992. ²⁴

Environmental Education Syllabus

The Six-Month Module Syllabus for Environmental Studies for Undergraduate Studies was introduced in 2003 for the first time following the directions of the apex court. The syllabus, which was in the nature of a multidisciplinary subject, was to be taught through classroom teaching and fieldwork. The entire syllabus was divided into eight units covering 50 lectures. The first seven units were to cover 45 lectures, while the eighth unit consisting of 5 lecture hours was to be based on field activities and field experiences under the supervision of the teacher. The UGC was to provide course material for the classroom-teaching and field activities, and experts were also to be invited externally as resource persons for teaching the course, to enhance the value of the syllabus while increasing the classroom experience of students.

The first seven units of class lectures covered the multidisciplinary topics such as renewable and non-renewable natural resources, ecosystems, biodiversity and its conservation, the cause and effect and control of environmental pollution, social issues and the environment, focusing on sustainable development and human factors contributing to the degradation of the environment and how to mitigate them, providing a gist of the laws relating to the protection of the environment, human population and the environment. The fieldwork was to include visits to the local areas to document the environmental assets such as rivers, forests, grasslands, hills and mountains, as well as the study of life forms, ecosystems and local polluted sites, to gain a composite idea of the classroom teachings through first-hand observations of the above.

Environmental Studies (EVS) for undergraduate levels was to be evaluated as per the academic set-up of each university and college. Those following the annual system were to evaluate the students through an annual exam, and the 50 lectures were to be spread out and completed within the annual academic calendar. Those following the semester system were to conduct the 50 lectures in the second semester, and the examination was to be conducted at the end of the said semester. The marking system was such that the universities and colleges following the credit system marked out of a total of four credits, while those awarding marks evaluated the students on a total of 100 marks, with the short-answer pattern carrying 25 marks, essay-type questions totalling to about 50 marks and the fieldwork 25 marks. Training of teachers is also a major focus, and the B.Ed. college curriculum, as well as programmes of teacher training institutes and colleges, has EE as an important component.

The District Institutes for Education and Training (DIET) syllabus on EVS is based on NPE 1986, the National Curriculum Framework For School Education, 2000 (NCFSE), NCF 2005 and the Andhra Pradesh Science Curriculum Framework, 2011 (APSCF). The DIET trains teachers at the primary level. Hence, its EVS pedagogy is ‘child centered’ and ‘…is introduced as a composite area of study with insights drawn from sciences, social sciences and environmental education’. The EVS syllabus for the early-primary and primary levels focuses on equipping the ‘student-teachers’ ‘…for the current challenges of elementary education and to equip them with theoretical and practical understanding of the nature and content of the subject’. The syllabus is also meant to ensure that these future leaders are not only armed with the methods like textbook teaching but also use methods like roleplay, storytelling, drama, arts and crafts, creative writing, puppet shows, field trips and other teaching media and methods. The student-teachers are also encouraged to open up to the children to help them incorporate inputs from their observations and experiences of the environment they live in in their classroom experience.

However, much of the EE curriculum was found to be based on a Western model and not suitable in the Indian context. This led to a huge gap between real-life experiences and the school EE curriculum. Also, the grades obtained in the EE exams were not counted in the final marks on the basis of which students were promoted to the higher class; this meant that EE was not taken seriously. The lack of teachers who had specialized in the subject or were even remotely qualified to teach the subject ensured that EE was not a popular subject and nor was it taken seriously. ²⁵ Consequently, the success of EE in India is considered dis-balanced between theory and live nature due to lack of practical exposure to the latter. Also, its success has been specific and dependent upon local efforts, rather than upon regional efforts.

Prior to the drafting of NPE 2020, the Ministry of Education ²⁶ (formerly the Ministry of Human Resources and Development) launched various initiatives to make students understand the themes of the subject in day-to-day life. Some such initiatives for school students are Jal Shakti Abhiyan, introduced to make students understand the importance of water conservation and save a litre ²⁷ of water a day, and the ‘one student one tree’ campaign. ²⁸ Similarly, the UGC, which is responsible for regulating university education in India, has launched initiatives, like the ‘Awareness Programmes on Environmental Hazards and Electronic Waste’ in 2015, ²⁹ and also circulated the AICTE ‘Guidelines for Ban on use of plastic in Higher Education Institution’ amongst universities in India. ³⁰

Promotion of Environmental Education in Sikkim: A Case Study of a ‘Green School’ in Sikkim

Dentam Government Senior Secondary School is one of the oldest schools in Sikkim, having been established in the year 1925, and is located near the town of Dentam in Mangpoo, Dentam Sub-Division, West Sikkim. ³¹ Dentam is also one of the few rice bowls of the state, and the school campus sprawls over an area of about an acre. The school has the distinction of being one of the first schools in the state to win the Chief Minister Green School Trophy, ³² as well as the Gobar Times Green Schools National Award ³³ under the Green School Programme ³⁴ of the Centre for Science and Environment, both of which were won in the year 2012.

At the time of the fieldwork, Mr P. P. Sharma, a former student of the school, was the principal. When he joined the school in the year 2009, he took a series of steps to make the school more environment-friendly. One of the first things he initiated was to solve the problem of waste disposal in the school. He also sought help from the local office of the forest department for increasing plantations and setting up herbal gardens in the school.

One of the first things one notices about the school is the preservation of the old school structure along with the new and modern infrastructure. ³⁵ The old school building, which is styled like a cottage with wood and corrugated sheet roof, is a heritage structure and is encapsulated by the new concrete storeyed buildings. A huge playground with a basketball court leads up through the steps to the old, single-storeyed school building and the surrounding new buildings. Along the path, beautiful flower patches and herb gardens greet the visitors, and the entire pathway is also paved with inspirational quotes. Cars are not allowed beyond a certain point inside the campus to prevent noise and air pollution, and the school campus is also a no-horn zone. The school banner and banners of the different student clubs and houses also stand tall and add a certain celebratory mood to the environment.

The old heritage school building, built in the 1930s, is made of ikra ³⁶ and has wooden balustrades, on top of which are kept rows of pots with blooming flowers. The bags of the children are also lined up neatly outside, and the play group and nursery children have their classes on carpeted floors. The walls are adorned with beautiful drawings, educational posters and pictures made by the children. This heritage building was a study in contrast to the concrete multi-storeyed building that accommodated classes for the senior students.

The school places a tremendous focus on the environment-friendly practices such as waste management, power saving, water management and conservation and promotion of environmental awareness, both in practice and in the curriculum. As per the syllabus, EVS is taught as a non-graded paper till Standard V, as EVS 1 and EVS 2. EVS 1 includes topics from Physics, Chemistry and Biology, whereas EVS 2 has subjects specific to the understanding of the environment, like studies of forest, soil, water, air, et cetera in elementary form. ³⁷ The principles of these two subjects are then incorporated into the general science ³⁸ and social science ³⁹ subjects from Standard VI onwards. In a report published by the Sikkim State Council of Education Research and Training assessing the performance of junior high schools of the state in respect of various subjects, the intention of the EVS as a subject was laid as follows:

…In all the Government schools of Sikkim environmental science is being taught from classes I to V. The text books are written keeping in mind the contextualization of Social science and Science with regards to Sikkim state. The subject deals with day to day scientific observations in and around the children and geographical conditions prevailing in the state of Sikkim. The subject tries to incorporate and sensitize the students about the natural bio-diversity of the state…. ⁴⁰

In terms of maintenance of its physical environment, the entire school area was clean, with abundant flowers and ornamental plants, each tagged with its scientific and colloquial name, lending a certain order to the green space. The bio-waste out of school midday meal schemes is processed through the piggery maintained in the premises. The students are also taught to inculcate zero-waste behaviours through value-based and practical methods. ⁴¹ The school has also made waste pits for biodegradable waste, and in times of functions and gatherings, students have been taught to make use of these. Another aspect reinforcing this behaviour of waste management is the ‘zero-tolerance to littering’ policy of the school starting from the pre-primary section. The Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW) class involves arts and crafts using biodegradable materials, waste products and other recycled materials. ⁴²

The school also has a no-plastic policy. In school functions, leaf and paper materials are used. Segregation of waste is also strictly followed, and the school safai karmacharis ensure that this is followed even at the time of disposal. Composting is also followed for biodegradable waste, and the compost is reused in the school gardens. The inculcation of a value-based sense of belongingness in the students about the property of the school and its premises also ensures that students do not indulge in sabotaging behaviour, for example, plucking flowers. Due to the value-based inculcation of consciousness of cleanliness and waste management, the safai karmacharis do not have to be supervised to look after the premises, even during prolonged absences of the school principal. The school is also supported by an NGO, Nirmal Dentam, ⁴³ which sends its garbage trucks to pick up waste from the school periodically.

Energy conservation is also followed through the use of compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs. All the classrooms are well ventilated with wide windows, and the use of lights in the daytime is hardly necessary. Power is used for devices like the library photocopy machine or in the laboratories, but generally, the need for power consumption on a daily basis was seen to be low. Proposals for installation of solar panels were underway at the time of the fieldwork. The CFL bulbs are treated as a separate kind of waste and disposed accordingly by the safai karmacharis. The school also has water purification facilities for drinking water in the form of taps, and hence, the students do not have to depend on water bottles or buy water.

Conclusion

On a careful analysis of the school with its status as a ‘Green School’, it is seen that it has incorporated the principles of EVS not only into its teaching curriculum but also into the basic structure of its daily routine. The school’s advantageous rural setting gives it added impetus to incorporate the principles of the subject into its daily activities. The town of Dentam has never had any environmental problems and is far away from any industrial setting, as the population is involved in an agriculture-based economy. ⁴⁴

Also, most students are from the rural farming background and have been exposed to a culture of close association with nature. Even if they might have come from different backgrounds with uneducated parents who have no modern scientific understanding of the ill effects of pollution and destruction of the environment, their agrarian sensibilities make them aware of the weather and climatic changes happening in and around them due to their impact on agriculture. Hence, they were found to appreciate the importance of the efforts of the school, as well as the aesthetic value of a green school. It was found that the parents interact with the school during the two parent–teacher meetings in a year and are supportive of the initiatives taken by the school. Also, the high stress by the state on organic farming and preservation of endemic food and cash crop species means that they are generally aware of the effects of environmental degradation. ⁴⁵

One of the major factors for consideration is that the school had also incorporated environment-friendly practices at the same time when Sikkim as a state had undertaken aggressive measures to improve the state of its environment through its departments, especially the Department of Forests, Environment and Wildlife Management, and many NGOs. ⁴⁶ The state had initiated the people’s movement of green revolution by declaring the year 1995 as the ‘Harit Kranti Year’ or the Green Revolution Year and the years 2000–2010 as the ‘Harit Kranti Dashak’, translated as the ‘Green Revolution Decade’. ⁴⁷ Under this programme, there was a ban on tree felling and cattle grazing in government-owned forest areas and afforestation on a ‘war-footing’. ⁴⁸

By the year 2000, the State Forest Department had announced the eco-funds and Green School funds, and by the year 2002, EE was made a compulsory subject from nursery till Standard VIII. The school had also initiated the programme of greening of books by 2003, which was implemented from the academic year 2004 onwards. ⁴⁹ Training of green teachers in understanding green school auditing and evaluations of ‘How green is your school?’ also have been undertaken periodically. ⁵⁰ NGC is also present in Sikkim, and the same is implemented through eco-clubs in every school. ⁵¹

In 2006, the state launched the ‘Sikkim Green Mission’, placing a major emphasis on increasing the green cover in the state, as well as on beautification, with the aim of turning the state into a ‘Garden State’. ⁵² It aimed at involvement of the public in general and roped in eco-club members as volunteers. Also, the aggressive pro-environment stand of the government in a small state like Sikkim, especially with the introduction of Joint Forest Management and Environment Development Committees at the village levels in the year 1998, meant that the students grew up in an environment-conscious culture.

Also, the Chief Minister’s Green School Rolling Trophy, with a cash prize of ₹500,000, has become a major incentive for schools to implement greening measures. This prize is the first of its kind in the country and now is given to all levels of schools in Sikkim with different award-money amounts. ⁵³

Schools of Sikkim continue to shine at the national level and have won awards at many other national competitions. ⁵⁴ This is truly a reflection of the proper implementation of the principles and aims of EE by the stakeholders. Also, the high level of literacy in Sikkim ⁵⁵ has proved to be an added impetus in educating the masses, including the younger generation, about the effects of environmental changes.