The ‘Green Highlight’ of the Golden Jubilee Year celebrations at St. Teresa’s Institute of Education, Santacruz was titled ‘पेड़ Promotion’- a Tree Landscaping Inventory of the sprawling 15,175 sq. metre campus on which the college is situated. The expansive green cover well makes it a ‘Savannah’ right at the heart of the city of Mumbai. The college holds a distinct green edge over other institutions on account of its innovative environmental endeavours over the past few years, ranging from the launching of the first-ever All-Mumbai Interschool/Intercollegiate Environment festival titled Planit-E, the annual Make a Difference Week to sensitise students, faculty and other stakeholders to their role in environmental stewardship, the RIPPLE model conceptualized for the Go Green with Tetra Pak Campaign and The Composting of Organic Waste to name a few.
This year, the college added a dash of green to its Golden Jubilee Year celebrations by tying up with a knowledge partner-Terracon Ecotech, a Nature-based Solutions company focusing on Ecology and Biodiversity over the last 13 years, having completed over 100 projects aimed at spreading knowledge and protecting greens in urban environments. In the first phase of the green endeavour, Mr. Ashok Jain (The Managing Director) and his team of botanists Nitesh Nikam and Gauri Joshi completed the Tree Landscaping Inventory of the campus identifying a green treasure of 101 species of plants comprising 17 native species and 15 exotic species of trees, 26 species of shrubs, 33 species of herbs and 10 species of climbers/twiners. In the second phase of the project ‘Green Genie’-Tree researcher Aditi Jayakar Kane who has been involved with the Green movement in Santacruz West along with the Science club of the college, collected species-specific information about the 29 varieties of trees which were geo-tagged on the campus. To mark the Golden Jubilee Year, a Tree Information Board at the entrance of the campus and individual Tree Label placards were installed to propagate environmental awareness, making a green difference to visitors and the stakeholders of the 4 institutions housed on the campus.
The inaugural ceremony held on April 01, 2023, witnessed the appreciation of the Management, Environmental NGOs Terracon Ecotech and RUR Greenlife Pvt. Ltd. faculty, students and other environmental enthusiasts who were present. Principal Dr. Sr. Tanuja Waghmare beamed with pride as another green feather was added to the already adorned hat of the institution. She summed up the event as ‘The Green Jewel in the institute’s Golden Jubilee crown”. The endeavour was spearheaded by Prof. Dr. Giselle D’souza who has been instrumental in conceptualizing many of the green escapades of the college. In the Professor’s closing statement, she declared, “It takes a team to rock a dream and this green mission has only taken off because faculty and students of the institution are wholeheartedly committed to a green cause”. Indeed, पेड़ Promotion-a student-driven endeavour truly showcases the zeal of the youth towards a greener tomorrow!
