1. I want to subscribe to Gobar Times. How do I go about it?
Gobar Times is a monthly supplement that you get along with the subscription of our magazine Down to Earth. To subscribe to Down to Earth please go here
2. I want to bulk-subscribe to Gobar Times. How do I go about it?
Please send an email to panditji@cseindia.org with your name, contact number and complete address. Or, send a snail mail to
Panditji
Environment Education Unit,
Centre for Science and Environment,
41 Tughlakabad Institutional Area,
New Delhi - 110062
3. Who is Pandit Gobar Ganesh?
Pandit Gobar Ganesh is Mr Know All when it comes to environment. He has the coolest answers for your craziest question. Try him!
4. I want to talk to Pandit Gobar Ganesh directly. Can you arrange this?
Panditji is a little busy and therefore a little choosy about who he speaks to but environment centred curiosity and inquisitiveness in young minds turns him on. If you convince him that you want to know a lot about burning environmental issues, he just might give you an appointment!
5. Why is the magazine called Gobar Times?
The magazine is called Gobar Times because Gobar alias Cow dung is symbolic of the cultural value Indian people associate with recycling and reusing. This one material is used for plastering houses, floors, as fuel, as well as for offering in prayers. It is even used as a medicine. The ash after cow dung is burnt and used for cleaning utensils. On a more humorous note, satire is used to indicate that even Pandit Gobar Ganesh can understand enviro-logic that we can't!
6. Who is the editorial team of GT? If I want to write to any of them in particular, how do I go about it?
You could write to Sumita Dasgupta at sumita@cseindia.org/dasgupta.sumita@gmail.com
Or Prachi Guron at prachiguron@gmail.com
7. How do I contribute content to the magazine?
It’s simple. Write in to the Editor (sumita@cseindia.org/prachiguron@gmail.com) or Panditji (panditji@cseindia.org) if you come across something interesting—information, incident, situation, people — that is important in the public interest from the environmental perspective or is related to a burning environmental issue (local, regional, national or international). It would be even better if you send along photographs and visuals!
8. I want to report a story related to our village/city, who should I contact?
Write in to the Editor at sumita@cseindia.org/prachiguron@gmail.com or send a snail mail at
Gobar Times
Centre for Science and Environment
41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area
New Delhi – 110062
9. I want Gobar Times to explain the lifecycle of a particular item. Is that possible?
Certainly, you can write to us with your suggestions. We will refer to the specific GT edition that featured that particular life cycle. If not and if we find your suggestion new and interesting, we’ll do a new life cylce for you and keep you informed!
10. Can I get in touch with the people who were quoted in one of the articles?
Yes, you can write in to us asking for their contact.
11. I have a question for Pandit ji, what e-mail address can I send it to?
panditji@cseindia.org
12. I had sent a query to Pandit ji, how will I get the answer and by when?
Look for your reply in one of the next few issues of Gobar Times or expect an email reply from us within a month of your query. And also, you can be in touch with the Gobar Times team on Facebook.
1. Why should my school participate?
2. How do I register my school?
You can register online on our website www.gobartimes.org or email the duly filled registration form to ashish@cseindia.org , ajanta@cseindia.org. You can send us the filled in registration form by post to:
Environment Education Unit
Centre for Science and Environment
41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area
New Delhi - 110062
The Registration forms are available in the Information Sheet.
If your school has an Information Sheet that has State Nodal Agencies contact address you can send duly filled registration form to that address.
3. I don't understand the programme very well. Can someone come to the school and give a presentation on it? Are there any fact sheets or brochures?
Please contact Ashish Shah (Deputy Coordinator) at ashish@cseindia.org , or Ajanta Sikdar (Assistant Coordinator) at ajanta@cseindia.org for any clarification.
4. What is the GSP manual?
‘Green Schools Programme - How green is my school?’ is the Manual used by the students to audit their school campus on five critical areas of Water, Air, Land, Energy and Waste. The manual provides step by step guidance on how the students will collect information and use it.
5. How do I order the GSP manual?
Out station school can order a copy of the manual by sending a letter giving complete address along with a Demand Draft (Cheque is acceptable if your school is in Delhi/NCR) of Rs 140 drawn in favour of 'Centre for Science and Environment' payable at Delhi to:
K C Raja
Sales Manager
Centre for Science and Environment
41, Tughlakab Institutional Area
New Delhi - 110062
You can buy the manual online at www.csestore.cse.org.in
6. I haven't received the GSP manual. What do I do?
Write to K C Raja, Sales Manager, CSE at raja@cseindia.org with the date and details of your payment or post a letter with the details to:
K C Raja
Sales Manager
Centre for Science and Environment
41, Tughlakab Institutional Area
New Delhi – 110062
7. We don't have time for so many activities. Do we need to do all of them?
If your school wants to get certified for its resource efficiency by CSE or / and compete for the Green Schools Awards it will have to complete activities stipulated with certification and award categories. If not, your school is free to choose its activities.
8. How and when will we know whether our school has won any awards?
Within two months of submitting your school’s report, you will come to know whether your school has won an award or not. Your schools teacher coordinator will receive a phone call which will be followed by a letter to the school Principal.
9. Our results are not so good. Should I still send them? What should we do to improve them?
We suggest that even if your results are not good, you should send in your report. Your school will receive a colour coded certificate that reflects your school’s resource efficiency. The teaching and learning benefits that the students and the teachers get far outweigh any other returns of the programme. The students and teachers also get certificates.
10. How many schools does GSP cover all over India? Do you have a breakup available by State?
We have sold more than 35000 copies of the Green Schools Programme manual in six languages (Telugu, Kannada, Gurmukhi, Urdu, English and Hindi). More than 15,000 schools have interacted with CSE or our National Green Corps, State Nodal Agency partners, at least once of more. We have directly trained 1,500 teachers and students in India. Schools represent 22 states and 3 union territories. The participation of schools and the states they come from change on a yearly basis.
2010 - 2011 programme had the following composition:
Delhi – 2000 schools (1000 private and 1000 government)
Chandigarh – 50 schools (90 percent government schools)
Himachal Pradesh – 50 schools (80 percent rural and semi urban schools)
Jharkhand – 50 schools (All urban and semi urban schools)
Sikkim – 80 schools (90 per cent government, rural and semi urban schools)
Andhra Pradesh – 1000 schools (90 per cent government, rural and semi urban)
Maharashtra – 300 schools (90 per cent rural schools)
Others National – 6594 schools (Urban and Semi urban schools)
11. What if we are able to do just a few chapters from the GSP manual and not all? Can we still participate?
If your school wants to get certified for its resource efficiency by CSE or / and compete for the Green Schools Awards, it will have to complete chapters stipulated with certification and award categories. If not, your school is free to choose its chapters.
12. Who are we supposed to send the GSP report to? By when?
To compete for the Green Schools Awards Programme 2011 – 2012, send your Green Schools Report by 30 November, 2011 to:
Assistant Coordinator
Environment Education Unit
Centre for Science and Environment
41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area
New Delhi - 110062
Or,
The state nodal agency contact given in your Information Sheet.
13. Can you please share a sample GSP report with us?
To see the PDF copy of Anubhuti School, Jalgaon, Maharashtra
Rank 1, Changemakers 2009, click here.
14. Do you have trainings for GSP? If yes, how do we enroll for a training session?
We conduct two training programmes every year for teachers and students from all across India. For the details of 2011 training programme click here. We conduct out station training programmes on request. To see the prerequisites of out station training programmes click here.
15. Do you do GSP training for each school? Will your faculty visit our school?
No we do not do training programme for each school but if your school is in Delhi we can visit your school for a brief orientation of your schools teachers and students.
16. What is the cost of GSP manual?
Rs 140 (including postage).
17. What is the cost of GSP training?
Rs 1000 per participant and Rs 1800 for two participants from the same institution / organisation. The charges include lunch for two days and two refreshments only. Lodging and boarding charges for out station participants are separate. We arrange accommodation on request.
1. What is Green Schools Awards?
The Green Schools Programme Awards Ceremony is an annual event, where top 25 performers from across the country are rewarded for their enterprise and innovative skills. The objective is to acknowledge the effort, and also to encourage more schools to come forward and take part in this movement. The Awards Ceremony is a grand affair. School children from across the country participate in various competitions, perform street plays, watch films and mingle with each other.
2. What is the difference between State and National awards?
In an effort to acknowledge a greater number of schools for their participating, the Centre for Science and Environment has assisted some state governments to introduce state level awards for schools within their jurisdiction. Andaman and Nicobar, Punjab, Sikkim, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh constituted state level awards in 2009. The Delhi Government also constituted the Chief Minister's rolling trophy for the top Delhi school.
Top state performers are eligible to compete for national awards.
3. How often are the awards given?
The awards are an annual event.
4. How are the winners judged?
Different categories of competing schools are judged on different criteria. The categories keep changing and they are mentioned in the current years Information Sheet every year.
5. What are the different categories for awards and how are they different from each other?
Top 10 Change Makers
These awards are given to the schools with best environmental practices in India. We take all five GSP Manual chapters (Water, Air, Land, Energy and Waste) into account. Schools that have submitted their Green Schools Report more than once are eligible.
Top 10 New Schools
These awards are given to the schools with best environmental practices in India. All five GSP Manual chapters (Water, Air, Land, Energy and Waste) are taken into account. Schools submitting their report for the first time are eligible.
Best Managers
These awards are for schools submitting Green Schools Report for the first time for any four GSP Manual chapters. Top ranking schools under each chapter are awarded separately. Schools applying for Green Schools Awards under the ‘Top 10 Change Makers’ and ‘Top 10 New Schools’ categories are not eligible to apply for this category.
6. How are the State level awards given?
State awards are adjudged by our state nodal agency partners.
7. What are the chances for a winning school to get an award the next year?
The chances of winning the award are very good if the school manages to implement the changes indicated by the previous year’s audit. The chances are very bleak if they do nothing after the previous year’s audit.
1. Who runs the Green Schools Program? Do you have any tie-ups?
Environment Education Unit at the Centre for Science and Environment runs the Green Schools Programme. We have tie-ups with several National Green Corps (MoEF run eco-club programme) state nodal agencies. We also have tie ups with regional level NGOs and individuals.
2. How are the states involved? How can a state partner with GSP?
Every State Nodal agency has a set of eco-club schools as per the National Green Corps (Ministry of Environment and Forest) school eco-club scheme. The ministry gives grant which varies from state to state. (Starting at Rs 2500 per month and going up to Rs10,000 per month) We get in touch with the state board managed schools directly or through the state agency.
3. Which States is GSP partnering with?
For the Gobar Times Green Schools Awards Programme 2011 – 2012, the following states are participating:
Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir, Orissa, Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Pondicherry, Chandigarh
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