Applauding the young student Suhani Sharma, who conceptualized the idea for the students of 8th to 12th standard of Government Schools of the district to inculcate a sense of responsibility for the disposal of solid waste produced from home and schools. The 8-week student internship program in solid waste management was Initiated by Deputy Commissioner Mrs Aashika Jain on August 21, 2023. The program attracted over 1200 students from more than 20 schools.
During the course of the programme, Suhani conducted webinars and talks on Sustainable waste management practices, problem solving, story-telling, poster-making and digital and public speaking skills. Municipal Corporation, Mohali organised field visits for students to understand source segregation of waste, horticulture waste composting, recycling activities at the RMC, and the Cow dung waste management model at the Mohali Gaushala. The structured internship program engaged students in solid waste management practices, while enhancing their critical thinking skills, creativity and public speaking skills. The students attended live sessions and webinars, submitted assignments, made posters, told stories, learnt power-point presentations and delivered them in a public speaking session. They took pledges to handle waste responsibly. The program website provided resources, blogs, exercises, and videos, even displays students’ work. About 100 College students had volunteered to mentor school participants.
Golden, Silver and Bronze Awards were given to Government Senior Secondary Schools Khizrabad, Hoshiarpur and 3B1 evening Schools respectively. Six other Best sustainability Awards were presented for Skills in Writing, Creativity, Communication, Community Outreach, Innovation and Initiatives to GSSS Kurdi, GHS Mauli Baidwan, GHS Mattaur, GSSS Mundho Sangtian, GHS Boothgarh and GSSS Singhpura respectively.