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Now, schools impart lessons in kitchen gardening

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The Hindu            20.11.2013

Now, schools impart lessons in kitchen gardening

Sowing the seed:Eco club students of Sacred Hearts Matriculation School working in the school's herbal garden, in Chennai —Photo: R. Ravindran
Sowing the seed:Eco club students of Sacred Hearts Matriculation School working in the school's herbal garden, in Chennai —Photo: R. Ravindran

In an attempt to re-connect urban students with their food, select city schools, including a school run by Chennai Corporation, are encouraging their children to grow vegetables and medicinal herbs in small patches of gardens created on their premises. “Observing the growth of plants teaches students patience and prepares them to face challenges,” Grace Alwyn, principal of Gateway International School (CBSE), Padur said. The bulk of the lady’s finger, brinjal, and a variety of greens and gourds that they are growing will go to the home for destitute and orphaned girls run by the Brotherhood Education Trust.

Students of Sacred Hearts Matriculation School now know how to sow seeds and nurture plants as part of their ‘Field-to-Table’ programme, where students will be cooking the vegetables they grow. Once a week, the students take to the school’s spacious backyard armed with shovels, buckets and manure.

Sri RKM Sarada Vidyalaya Model Girls Higher Secondary School in T.Nagar, and Chennai Corporation Higher Secondary School in Thiruvanmiyur run similar programmes.

On Monday, Sarada Vidyalaya School students handed out one kg of lady’s finger to the noon meal centre attached to the school, said headmistress Kannaki Prabakaran. V. M. Arya, a student of the school, said she started growing brinjal, chillies and tomatoes in her house now.

S. Kathiyayini, a class VIII student at Sacred Hearts, said: “We have learnt more about soil types, seasonal plants, and we also a got an idea of how our vegetables are grown.”

 

More schools in Coimbatore to get solar cookers

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The Hindu             19.11.2013

More schools in Coimbatore to get solar cookers

Karthik Madhavan

It is proving to be cost-effective, environment friendly

After experimenting with solar power in cooking noon meal for students in a corporation school, the Coimbatore Corporation has decided to provide them to a few more schools.

The corporation, sometime in August, installed two solar cookers at the North Coimbatore School at Rs. 68,000.

Corporation Commissioner G. Latha had said that the civic body was keen on tapping alternative sources of energy to bring down reliance on conventional sources of energy and provide a friendly kitchen environment for workers, who had been struggling with firewood.

Now the corporation had decided to increase the number of solar cookers to five.

This followed a positive feedback from the North Coimbatore School and an audit of the benefits, said sources.

Though the sky had been cloudy and it had been raining, the noon meal workers there were able to boil eggs and a few other items.

Problem

They had problem with boiling rice in the cooker as the time consumed was longer.

The sources said that the cooker took around an hour to cook 3 kg rice.

A study conducted by N. Ravi Shankar, an energy auditor, was almost complete and that the report would be out very soon.

The sources said that the study had revealed that the use of solar cookers could lead to savings.

The exact quantity of savings would be known only after the audit report was submitted.

The sources said that in the next phase, the corporation would install the solar cookers in all the higher secondary schools and thereafter in all the 86 schools under its control.

The Coimbatore Corporation would get subsidy from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Resources.

Coimbatore has been declared a solar mission city by the Union Government.

 

Corporation office to use solar energy

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The Hindu            06.11.2013

Corporation office to use solar energy

Harnessing the power of the sun:Mayor S.M.Velusamy (second left) launched a 7.5 kW solar power system at Corporation East Zone office in the city, on Tuesday.- Photo:K.Ananthan
Harnessing the power of the sun:Mayor S.M.Velusamy (second left) launched a 7.5 kW solar power system at Corporation East Zone office in the city, on Tuesday.- Photo:K.Ananthan

Coimbatore Corporation under Mayor S.M. Velusamy and Commissioner G. Latha on Tuesday took yet another step towards tapping alternative energy. The civic body began tapping solar energy to power its East Zone office.

Mr. Velusamy in the presence of the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner S. Sivarasu, Deputy Mayor Leelavathi Unni, City Engineer in-charge K. Sugumar, chairmen of various zones and councillors inaugurated the facility.

A press release from the Corporation said that it had installed 30 solar panels and other equipment with a capacity to generate 7.50 kw power. The energy generated would translate into 40 units a day and that would meet 40 per cent of the energy requirements of the zonal office.

The zonal office consumed 100 units a day. The installation would help the Corporation save Rs. 280 a day at Rs. 7 a unit. The annual savings amounted to Rs. 1,00,800.

But there could be further savings as the civic body would generate power on holidays but would not consume the same from the grid. It would claim concession for the power generated on such days. The release said that the civic body had fully funded the cost of installation. It would in the days to come apply to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Resources to claim 30 per cent subsidy. The installation at the East Zone office was in keeping with the Tamil Nadu Government’s Solar Energy Policy, introduced in 2012 by the Chief Minister. The Policy mandated installation of rooftop solar power panels in all Government buildings.

The Corporation had installed the solar panels in its North Zone, Central Zone and West Zone offices. It was in the process of installing the panels in the South Zone and the main offices. It would soon start power generation at the zonal offices — each office has been fitted with 30 solar photovoltaic panels to generate 7.50kW power.

At the main office the number is slightly higher as the power requirement is higher.

Sources said that the Corporation had planned the installation of panels and other equipment at the zonal offices in such a way that it could increase the generation capacity by 7.50kW to increase the number of units produced. The Corporation would go in for more such solar projects. It would also encourage installation of solar panels by private establishments as Coimbatore was one of the solar mission cities, said Mr. Velusamy at the inauguration.

 


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