By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Altogether 500 school students from the State and across the country will participate in the three day programme for Environmental Awareness in Schools (PEAS) to be held at NEHU multipurpose centre from July 15.
PEAS which is the brain child of William Carey University Chancellor Dr Ken Gnanakan is being held for the first time in the North Eastern Region with the aimed to motivate children to create awareness on the need to preserve and protect the environment.
The PEAS activities include PEAS clubs in schools, workshops for teachers, competitions, rallies, seminars and a national conference.
The 2011 conference was held in Mumbai and there were students from the host city, as well as Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai.
“We in the university have the firm believe that the children are the main carriers of the message of environmental impact,” Dr Gnanakan said while addressing a press conference here on Saturday.
He said that it is also very important that environmental awareness should be imparted should begin at the school level when the children’s minds are impressionable.
“We are committed to prepare young children who would become ‘eco-soldiers’ in their later lives,” William Carey Chancellor said.
Meanwhile, Dr Gnanakan said that the school children from various parts of the country including Meghalaya would culminate during the three-day PEAS National Conference to discuss and actively participate on the core issues concerning the environment.
“Around 100,000 students from 1,000 schools across India are now engaged in various activities to spread awareness about environment-related issues due to the PEAS initiative,” William Carey Chancellor who launched the PEAS campaign in India 15 years ago said.