Mathrubhumi SEED

Name of the programme :‐ Mathrubhumi SEED (Student Empowerment for Environment Development) Category of the entry :‐
Young Reader Newspaper of the Year, Public Service & Helping to Go Green Sponsoring Newspaper :‐
The Mathrubhumi Daily Complete address of the The Mathrubhumi PrinHng and Publishing Co. Ltd, newspaper :‐
M.J. Krishnamohan Memorial Building, K.P. Kesava Menon Road, Kozhikode, Kerala, India‐673001. Name of the project director :‐
Mr. G. Anand, General Manager‐HRD E‐mail of the project director :‐
g.anand@mpp.co.in Phone of the project director :‐
+91‐9847744417, +91‐495‐2362653 CirculaHon and frequency of :‐
1,386,960 (ABC July‐ December 2012), Daily the newspaper
A one sentence descripHon :‐ SEED (Student Empowerment for Environmental Development) ‐ is of the project
an iniHaHve of The Mathrubhumi PrinHng and Publishing Company Ltd conceived with the vision of creaHng awareness among the student community on environment protecHon wherein member schools have to carry out simple but effecHve acHviHes to protect water, air and soil, public health etc. Target of the project
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School students in the age group of 10‐17 years Mathrubhumi‐ a brief history Mathrubhumi was conceived as the mouthpiece of India’s freedom movement and is one of the most circulated newspapers in Malayalam, the language of the home state of Mathrubhumi, Kerala. It was established on 18th March 1923 and is synonymous with Kerala’s freedom movement and the Indian NaHonal Congress. Mathrubhumi is a newspaper born out of relentless passion of freedom fighters, Mathrubhumi went on to become an inalienable part of Kerala's social fabric. The Mathrubhumi daily today sells more than 1.38 million copies daily and has 10 other periodicals many of which are category leaders. The Mathrubhumi Group is known and respected for its publicaHons that maintain high literary values, and for its steadfast commitment to its stand on issues. Mathrubhumi Books, the publishing house, has already made a mark of its own in Malayalam Publishing industry. The Mathrubhumi yearbook, a Current affairs and General Knowledge yearly update and Panchangam (Almanac) are Mathrubhumi’s annual treats to readers. The online ediHon www.mathrubhumi.com was launched for the Global malayalees and the internet ediHon was further upgraded as a portal with many channels. Mathrubhumi has over the years spread its wings and has forayed into broadcasHng media. Club FM, Mathrubhumi’s own Radio wing has four staHons in Kerala. Mathrubhumi News Television channel and Kappa TV launched in 2013 are already topping the viewership charts. SEED Since incepHon, Mathrubhumi has played a significant role in the social, economic, cultural and environmental issues of India parHcularly Kerala. Environmental degradaHon is one of the major hurdles faced by the world today. Natural resources have been passed on from generaHons and it’s our duty to protect, preserve and transfer it to our future generaHons. Public awareness is a major tool in environmental protecHon and media has got a major role to play in spreading awareness among the general public about the importance of environmental protecHon. Awareness of the fact that future of the world is highly dependent on its children, prompted Mathrubhumi to embark in this novel iniHaHve called SEED (Student Empowerment for Environmental Development) to create awareness among the younger generaHon to preserve and protect our mother nature for the well being of all exisHng and future life forms on earth. SEED can be the largest green iniHaHve in India at the school level by any newspaper organizaHon for protecHng and preserving mother nature through school children. SEED (Student Empowerment for Environmental Development) ‐ is an ini8a8ve of The Mathrubhumi Prin8ng and Publishing Company Ltd. conceived with the vision of crea8ng awareness among the student community on environment protec8on and to empower them in protec8on of water, air, soil and public health. What we did and why…… Why SEED? • 
Prevent and address issues relaHng to environmental degradaHon like global warming, water and air polluHon, plasHc waste etc. • 
Protect and preserve natural resources for the future generaHons. • 
SEED aims to create awareness among the student community on environment protecHon and enable them to protect water, air and soil. • 
SEED empowers tomorrow’s ciHzens to address issues that leads to environmental degradaHon. • 
Build a richer, greener and cleaner globe for the future generaHon • 
To develop a new green culture in the State of Kerala by assembling school children. Target Group Students in the age group of 10‐17 years coming under the Upper Primary Schools, High Schools & Higher Secondary schools across 38 EducaHonal Districts of the 14 Revenue Districts in the State of Kerala. SEED reaches out to more than 2 million students spread across 5523 schools. SEED‐ The Growth… •  SEED was conceptualized in 2009 and is now in its 5th meritorious year since incep8on. •  The first year of SEED (2009‐10) had 3087 schools par8cipa8ng and the numbers increased to 5523 schools in the 4th year (2012‐13). The registra8on for the 5th year (2013‐14) is in progress. •  The evalua8on period of SEED ac8vi8es are from June to December. SEED schools‐ Sta9s9cs No.of Schools registered 2012‐13 5,523 2011‐12 5,443 2010‐11 5,378 2009‐10 3,089 No.of Schools registered Structure of the programme   Each of the parHcipaHng school has a SEED club with a teacher co‐ordinator. SEED club members lead the acHviHes under the supervision of the teacher co‐ordinator. Training programmes were imparted to the teacher co‐ordinators by staff of Mathrubhumi group. The acHviHes on the basis of which the SEED schools are evaluated are detailed during the training programme.   Internally, Mathrubhumi has a four Her monitoring system viz., School level, EducaHon district level, Revenue District level and State Level. At the school level, we have one Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for each of the 10 schools. The School SPOCs regularly visited parHcipant schools and obtained their reports along with evidence. The School SPOCs report the progress to the EducaHon District SPOC, who in turn will report to the Revenue District SPOC.   A comprehensive evaluaHon of acHviHes was carried out across Kerala culminaHng with a five member jury of experts visiHng the short listed schools.   Cash prizes amounHng to a total of Rs.20 lakhs (approx US $ 45,000) was given away as prizes to the winning schools.   We have a banery of employees, who are passionate about environment and conservaHon related subjects, who act as Trainers to the Teachers. We have 65 such Trainers and more than 300 volunteers from within the organizaHon. The trainers and volunteers include factory workers to Senior Managers. The RegistraHon process   The SEED volunteers visit the schools in the beginning of every academic year to renew the registraHons of each school.   Mathrubhumi daily announces the call for new registraHons and the registraHon forms are made available in the SEED exclusive website www.mbiseed.com. hnp://www.mbiseed.com/download/registraHon_form.pdf   Every year a SEED handbook is prepared and handed over to all SEED schools which detail the acHviHes that are to be done by the schools in that parHcular academic year to qualify for the prizes. The handbook also gives informaHon on the prize details, the Hmeline for SEED acHviHes, submission of reports etc. The PDF version of the handbook is also made available in the SEED exclusive website www.mbiseed.com. hnp://www.mbiseed.com/download/booklet_2012.pdf •  Once the registraHon forms are received, the details are entered in the SEED webpage and the member schools are given a username and password for accessing the SEED webpage. SEED schools can update their acHviHes, news, photos etc in their respecHve WebPages through a moderator. hnp://www.mbiseed.com/list_acHviHes.php?type=seed hnp://www.mbiseed.com/view_acHviHes.php hnp://www.mbiseed.com/gallery.php Partners • 
The Mathrubhumi PrinHng and Publishing Co. Ltd, established in the year 1923 started the SEED project in June 2009 with the support of the State Government of Kerala. • 
SEED 2009‐10 partnered with Labour India PublicaHons Ltd.(one of the leading publishing house in Kerala) and technical support regarding Environment protecHon was provided by Paristhithi Samrakshana Sangham, Aluva, a non profit organizaHon working for protecHon of environment in the state of Kerala. • 
SEED 2010‐11 shared plarorm with Wintech PublicaHons(another leading publishing house in Kerala) and Paristhithi Samrakshana Sangham, Aluva conHnued their technical support for our novel venture. • 
The partners of SEED conHnued for the academic year 2011‐12. • 
SEED 2012‐13 partnered with Federal Bank, a major Indian Commercial Bank with more than a thousand branches and ATM’s across India. Partners (Contd.) • 
SEED 2013‐14 conHnues to enjoy the partnership with Federal Bank. • 
A subsidiary project of SEED called “Seasonwatch” has Wipro, India’s leading IT giant and NCBS (NaHonal Centre for Biological Sciences), part of Tata InsHtute of Fundamental Research, doing research in the fronHer areas of biology as its partners. • 
In the ‘Love PlasHc’ project under SEED, Eastern Group and Pelican FoundaHon( both major players in Kerala industry) were partners. • 
SEED had by its side Coconut Development Board (CDB) for its project “Ente Thengu”. • 
Builders AssociaHon of India (BAI) teamed up with SEED for the Linle Frame contest. SEED ‐Awards Snapshot of awards given to partner schools in SEED •  Vishishta Haritha Vidyalayam Award The best performing school in the state is awarded with ‘Vishishta Haritha Vidyalayam Award’ along with cash prize of Rs 1,00,000 (approx US $ 2200) trophy and cerHficate. •  Shreshta Haritha Vidyalayam Award Out of the 14 revenue districts, one school from each district is awarded with ‘Shreshta Haritha Vidyalayam Award’, trophy and cerHficate. •  Haritha Vidyalayam Award Out of the 38 educaHonal districts, three schools in each district (total 114 schools) is awarded with cash prizes and awards. The first prize winners of each educaHonal district will be awarded the `Haritha Vidyalayam Award ‘, cerHficate and cash prize of Rs 25,000 (approx US $ 550). The second prize winner will get cash award of Rs 15,000 (approx US $ 330) trophy and cerHficate and the third prize winner will get cash prize of Rs 10,000 (approx US $ 220) trophy and cerHficate. SEED ‐Awards Snapshot of awards given to partner schools in SEED (contd.) •  Special Awards Special awards at State level to the Schools which excel in each of the acHviHes listed in SEED. •  Best Teacher Coordinator & Gem of Seed Best Teacher Coordinator award is given to the Seed teacher coordinator who iniHates outstanding performance towards environmental protecHon at educaHonal district level. Students showing excellent performance towards environmental protecHon is awarded with “Gem of Seed”. •  Apart from all the above listed awards Special Awards at the state level will be given to three schools excelling in Agricultural acHviHes. SEED –Award winners The following schools were the recipients of the most sought axer SEED “Vishishta Haritha Vidyalayam” Awards for the top SEED school at the State level: 2009‐10 ‐
Neeleeshwaram SNDP School, Ernakulam 2010‐11 ‐
Lakkidi Jawahar Navodaya School, Wayanad 2011‐12 ‐
Kidangoor SVGVHSS, Pathanamthina 2012‐13 ‐
Edathirinji HDPHSS, Thrissur SEED‐ AcHviHes The main SEED acHviHes for the year 2012‐13 were as under:‐ • 
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SEED Police PlanHng and protecHon of saplings Agricultural acHviHes Hygiene and Health Bio‐diversity conservaHon ConservaHon of water bodies and prevenHng air polluHon Energy conservaHon Prevent PlasHc Hazard. SEED has laid emphasis on other acHviHes during the iniHal years viz., Campus cleaning acHviHes, maintaining cleanliness of public places like parks, gardens, bus shelters etc., Bio‐ diversity mapping, conducHng study tours to places of ecological importance, celebraHng environment related days, creaHng public awareness on environment protecHon, hygiene, public health etc. 17 SEED‐ AcHviHes SEED POLICE SEED police is formulated with selected members of the SEED club. The main duty of the SEED police is to idenHfy environmental issues near to the respecHve schools and involving in construcHve acHviHes to address these issues. The issues must be idenHfied at first and then understand how these issues can be solved. The anenHon of the society and the concerned authoriHes are to be drawn to these issues and seen to it that the issues are addressed. 18 SEED‐ AcHviHes The SEED POLICE impact SEED police has created waves from the first year of its incepHon by interfering in various issues related to environment protecHon and public health. SEED police has emerged victorious in many issues wherein elders had accepted defeat. 1)  A granite quarry which started funcHoning axer renovaHon in the district of Kasargode started giving nightmares to the nearby dwellers. Cracks started developing on the walls of the nearby houses. The granite dust arising out of the speeding granite trucks added on to the woes. It was then that the SEED police of Podavur School interfered and took an opinion survey from 100 nearby households within a day and submined a report of the same to the concerned authoriHes. The authoriHes couldn’t turn their back at the children who had come with concrete reports and the quarry was shut down. 2)  The SEED police team of St. AugusHne’s Girls’s Higher Secondary School, Muvanupuzha, Ernakulam file a complaint against nails being used for fixing sign boards on trees. This was noHced to be the main cause of destrucHon of roadside trees. The Honorable High Court of Kerala has pronounced a verdict against nails being used to fix sign boards on trees on the basis of the complaint received from the SEED police team of St. AugusHne’s Higher Secondary School. 3)  The SEED Police of Chundambana VBUP School, Palakkad approached the Panchayath president for stopping the illegal sand mining being carried out on the banks of the river “Thootha”. The Panchayath President with no haste fell for the children’s Love for Nature and took immediate acHon and posted two watchmen along the river banks. 19 SEED‐ AcHviHes The SEED POLICE impact (contd.) 4) SEED police of NaHonal Higher Secondary School, Irinjalakuda, Thrissur intervened and fought for the rights of the students travelling at concessional rates in private buses who were denied the right to be seated even if vacant seats are available in the buses. A complaint was registered with the Motor Vehicles Department and the buses were checked and the erring ones were warned of severe punishment for any misbehavior towards children. The children also brought to the noHce of the authoriHes the use of Air horns by the buses which cause noise polluHon. 5) The SEED police members of Idavilakom Government UP school came out with Awareness programmes when Dengue fever swept across the district of Trivandrum. 6) The SEED police of Vithura Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya went into tribal colonies spreading awareness about hygiene and health. 20 SEED‐ AcHviHes PLANTING AND PROTECTION OF SAPLINGS “When we plant a tree, we plant a shade”. PlanHng trees have to be culHvated as a habit. •  SEED schools should protect at least 5 exisHng trees of the campus in order to qualify for the SEED evaluaHon process. •  The main aim is to plant the maximum no: trees. The aim is not just to plant but also to ensure that its growing. •  SEED schools should become members of the “Ente Thengu” project. •  Preference should be given to local tree varieHes and coconut trees in parHcular. •  Record details of trees, their scienHfic names, local names, growth details etc should be maintained. •  Conduct innovaHve programmes like Birthday park. 21 PLANTING AND PROTECTION OF SAPLINGS‐ SNAPSHOTS 22 SEED‐ AcHviHes AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES SEED has been successful in creaHng milestones in agricultural acHviHes. The acHviHes include idenHficaHon of vacant land inside and outside the school premises and involving in agricultural acHviHes. •  The main aim behind this acHvity is to insHll in the minds of the young an interest to pursue agriculture in future. •  Importance should be given to organic farming and scienHfic knowhow of organic farming should be made known to the students. •  Coconut, paddy, fruits and vegetable farming to be given importance. •  Promote banana culHvaHon, interacHon with local farmers, conducing seminars, discussions, exhibiHons etc 23 AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES‐ SNAPSHOTS 24 SEED‐ AcHviHes HYGIENE AND HEALTH Hygiene plays a vital role in creaHng the Perfect man and the perfect society. The main aim is to culHvate hygienic and healthy habits in children. This acHvity aims to have a disease free world for the future generaHons. It educates the children on health, food and hygiene habits. •  Emphasis on ensuring hygiene of school toilets. •  AuthoriHes to be informed on noHcing environment polluHon and proper waste disposal should be ensured. •  Create public awareness on hygiene and public health. •  Try and provide waste disposal systems in all houses. •  Help children avoid having junk food like cola, fried snacks etc and spread awareness on the benefits of eaHng fruits , vegetables etc. •  Conduct eye camps, health check ups etc for the low income groups of the society. 25 HYGIENE AND HEALTH‐ SNAPSHOTS 26 SEED‐ AcHviHes BIO‐DIVERSITY CONSERVATION This acHvity aims at conserving the bio‐ diversity without disturbing the environmental factors of the local area. •  The local woods near the school to be protected and conserved. •  Become members in SEED Seasonwatch project. •  Study and prepare a report of the bio‐ diversity of an area near to the school. •  IdenHfy big trees near to the school and label them as SEED trees for conserving and make the tree a plarorm for creaHng public awareness on environment conservaHon. •  Establish bio‐ diversity and bunerfly parks. •  Conduct local tree census. •  Innovate new ideas for Bio‐ diversity conservaHon. 27 BIO‐ DIVERSITY CONSERVATION‐ SNAPSHOTS 28 SEED‐ AcHviHes CONSERVATION OF WATER BODIES AND PREVENTING AIR POLLUTION ConservaHon of water and air is of vital importance in Environment conservaHon. •  SEED members should take steps to preserve the rivers, streams, wells, lakes, ponds and other water bodies in their local area. •  Create awareness on water and air conservaHon among the society. •  Contemplate steps to reduce the use of water. •  Recycle waste water. •  Test water that is available in the local area •  Dig rain pits in the school premises and in houses •  Take steps to harvest rain water •  Check Air polluHon levels •  Create awareness against the burning of plasHc 29 CONSERVATION OF WATER BODIES AND PREVENTING AIR POLLUTION ‐ SNAPSHOTS 30 SEED‐ AcHviHes ENERGY CONSERVATION •  The main means to conserve energy is to reduce the consumpHon of electricity. •  Monitor the monthly electricity bills and reduce the electrcity consumpHon •  Promote use of LED bulbs •  Create awareness about equipments funcHoning with solar energy. 31 ENERGY CONSERVATION‐ SNAPSHOTS 32 SEED‐ AcHviHes PREVENT PLASTIC HAZARD Understand that PlasHc which has crept into all walks of life is a major hazard. Reduce the consumpHon of plasHc to the best extent possible. •  Make the school and its premises plasHc free zones. Enroll in the “Love plasHc” programme of SEED. •  Encourage use of cloth and paper bags •  Prevent PlasHc waste being thrown around unnecessarily. •  Avoid plasHc toys and subsHtute throw away plasHc ball pens with fountain pens. •  Make it a habit to reuse plasHc materials. •  Innovate new ideas to reduce plasHc waste. 33 PREVENT PLASTIC HAZARDS‐ SNAPSHOTS 34 VARIOUS PROJECTS UNDER THE SEED PLATFORM
SEASONWATCH
SEASON WATCH: A na8onal project in associa8on with Wipro, India’s leading IT giant and NCBS (NaHonal Centre for Biological Sciences), part of Tata InsHtute of Fundamental Research, doing research in the fronHer areas of biology as its partners in which students collect informa8on on changes in selected 25 species of trees. It intends to scien8fically monitor trees to iden8fy its leafing, flowering and frui8ng paYern. The school children documents the Hming of flowering, fruiHng and leaf‐flush of roughly 100 tree species, and explore how this Hming may be changing as the climate changes. All these studies must be properly documented and uploaded to the exclusive Season watch website www.seasonwatch.in/seed Collected data will be used to understand the phenological paYern in our locality / across state / across years / across seasonal cycles. Trainers training for Seasonwatch 37 SEASON WATCH: Prakrithi Padam Contest: Contest for experience sharing among teachers in conserva8on of bio‐diversity 114 winners in Kerala won cash prizes and aYended nature camps under the auspices of the Dept. of Forests, Government of Kerala. SEASON WATCH: Advanced Bio‐diversity Awareness Workshops: 8 Workshops across Kerala enabled the teachers to assimilate the nuances of biodiversity conserva8on. Experts from Na8onal centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore – a division of TIFR led the Workshops.1,484 teachers across Kerala par8cipated SEASON WATCH: Nature camps: 7 nature camps were held at Neyyar wild life sanctuary, Thekkadi wildlife sanctuary, Eravikulamna8onal park, Parambikulam wildlife sanctuary, Silent valley na8onal park, Muthanga wildlife sanctuary and Aralam wildlife sanctuary for selected SEED teachers and students. LOVE PLASTIC
LOVE PLASTIC PlasHc is one of the major toxic pollutants of our Hme. Being a non‐biodegradable substance, composed of toxic chemicals, plasHc pollutes earth, air and water. There is no way whatsoever you can ‘safely’ dispose of plasHc waste. PlasHc causes serious damage to environment both during its producHon and disposal. So the only way to reduce the hazards of plasHc is to reduce and reuse plasHc. The fatal threat posed by plasHc waste could be minimized only through recycling of plasHc waste to produce new plasHc products. It is when Mathrubhumi came up with a novel venture “Love Plas9c” aimed to “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle plasHc.” Eastern Group joined hands with Mathrubhumi for this venture with technical support from Pelican foundaHon. LOVE PLASTIC Love plasHc project was inaugurated by former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on 19th February 2011 at Konayam district, Kerala. Love PlasHc took off in the member schools in the academic year 2011‐12. The Chief Minister of Kerala, Sri. Oomen Chandy flagged off the Love PlasHc vehicle on 12.08.2011 at Thiruvananthapuram. A specially designed vehicle went around the Love PlasHc schools for collecHng the segregated plasHc. LOVE PLASTIC LOVE PLASTIC‐ Collec9on district wise Sl. No District Low Micron High Micron High Density Pet BoWles Total 1 TRIVANDRUM 140.00 143.50 157.00 166.00 606.50 2 KOLLAM 310.00 225.00 144.00 259.00 938.00 3 ALAPPUZHA 148.00 84.00 145.00 108.50 485.50 4 KOTTAYAM 230.00 252.00 130.00 352.00 964.00 5 PATHANAMTHITTA 321.00 82.00 79.50 272.00 754.50 6 IDUKKI 306.00 153.50 166.50 485.00 1111.00 7 ERNAKULAM 161.50 63.50 169.00 147.50 541.50 8 THRISSUR 563.00 306.00 141.00 235.50 1245.50 9 PALAKKAD 944.00 364.50 175.00 346.00 1829.50 10 MALAPPURAM 221.00 148.00 142.00 140.00 651.00 11 KOZHIKODE 197.00 200.00 253.00 453.00 1103.00 12 WAYANAD 203.00 139.00 153.00 276.00 771.00 13 KANNUR 285.00 207.00 131.00 258.95 881.95 14 KASARGOD 256.00 159.00 106.95 340.00 861.95 4285.50 2527.00 2092.95 3839.45 12744.90 Total LOVE PLASTIC Love plas9c ‐ the journey •  The Love PlasHc vehicle travelled a total of 9713 kms and collected 12745 kgs of plasHc waste from the Love plasHc schools in three phases. •  The Love plasHc vehicle was welcomed in a fesHve manner in all the schools across the state. •  The quality of plasHc and the segregaHon was done in the best prescribed manner possible by the students. The students maintained individual records of the collected plasHc. •  The collected plasHc was recycled centrally at the Pelican FoundaHons unit at Kuthiathode, Alappuzha. •  The Love PlasHc mission forayed outside the campus boundaries deeper into the society. •  ResidenHal associaHons also joined hands with the schools for collecHng plasHc wastes. e.g., Lal Bahadhur Sasthri Memorial Higher Secondary School , Avinathur, Thrissur District and Muslim Girls High Secondary School Eranupena. •  The administraHon of Mahe (Union territory) took inspiraHon from our programme and launched Love PlasHc programme to enable a plasHc free Mahe. LOVE PLASTIC Love plas9c ‐ Snapshots LOVE PLASTIC Love plas9c – in Mathrubhumi daily LOVE PLASTIC Love plas9c – in Mathrubhumi daily LOVE PLASTIC Love plas9c – in Mathrubhumi daily ENTE THENGU
ENTE THENGU The word ‘Kerala’ is derived from the word “Keram” meaning coconut. Kerala is the land of coconuts. The present state of coconut farming in the Land of Coconuts however is tragic. Though India occupies a comfortable posiHon in producHon and producHvity of coconut, the area under culHvaHon and producHon of coconut in Kerala has declined considerably over the years. The tough condiHons in the coconut farming had turned away Kerala farmers from this crop. “Ente thengu” is a unique project of Mathrubhumi SEED in associaHon with Coconut Development Board aimed to create awareness about the importance of coconut to the young generaHon. Ente thengu in Malayalam means “My Coconut tree”. The project was formulated to mould, moHvate & create passion in the young minds about coconut farming and to bring back Kerala culture of Coconut farming. Through this project, Coconut Development Board with the help of Mathrubhumi SEED distributes 15 coconut saplings to 38 Haritha Vidyalayam award winning schools in Kerala for plan9ng and maintenance. ENTE THENGU As a pilot venture the Haritha Vidyalayam award winning schools viz. the educaHon district prize winners of Mathrubhumi SEED were selected to be the members of Ente Thengu. The teacher representaHves of these 38 award winning schools were extended a full day training programme on the planHng techniques, maintenance of seedling and agricultural pracHces specific to coconut farming at the DSP farm of Coconut development Board at Neriamangalam, Kerala on 29.09.2011. These representaHves shared the learning from the training programme with their respecHve school children. An expert comminee comprising of experts from Coconut Development Board clusters and local area farmers visited the schools for evaluaHng the maintenance of the saplings and for enriching the knowledge of the students on Coconut farming. ENTE THENGU ENTE THENGU‐ ElocuHon compeHHon. A statewide elocuHon compeHHon for school children was held across the state for Upper primary, High school and Higher secondary categories to spread awareness of coconut tree among the younger generaHon. The compeHHon was held in three stages viz. EducaHon district level, Revenue district level and State level. The compeHHon was the first of its kind in the state and saw an astounding number of 2189 young speakers across the length and breadth of Kerala speaking on various aspects related to coconut. The compeHHon helped to insHll in the young minds the importance of the coconut tree and the need to expand coconut culHvaHon in Kerala. The young speakers brought to light many innovaHve ideas for expanding coconut culHvaHon and for markeHng coconut produce in the state. An eminent panel evaluated the young speakers’ extempore speaking skills across the three stages. Cash prizes worth 1 million INR was distributed to the winners. ENTE THENGU ENTE THENGU‐ snapshots ENTE THENGU ENTE THENGU‐ in Mathrubhumi daily ENTE THENGU ENTE THENGU‐ in Mathrubhumi daily LITTLE FRAME
LITTLE FRAME Linle Frame:‐ State level Children’s short Film Contest organized by Mathrubhumi SEED in associaHon with Builders’ AssociaHon of India (BAI). Eligible parHcipants were school children from Upper Primary, High School and Higher Secondary Schools in Kerala. All films to have social message on responsible infrastructure and can cover broad areas like energy conservaHon, water conservaHon, muncipal solid waste disposal, reduce and recycle of plasHc, controlling air polluHon, cleanliness and public health, bio diversity conservaHon, responsible living, clean energy, renewable energy etc. More than 1000 entries were received and 70 finalists ie 5 from each of the 14 districts of Kerala were shortlisted. LITTLE FRAME LITTLE FRAME‐ PRIZE MONEY Two awards per Revenue District  1st Prize
Rs.25,000/‐  2nd prize Rs.15,000/‐. CerHficates and Mementoes Special Jury commendaHon & memento to the three next best films in each district. (Total 42 special jury commendaHon) Total of 70 prizes worth INR 5.60 lacs LITTLE FRAME LITTLE FRAME‐ PRIZE MONEY Two awards per Revenue District  1st Prize
Rs.25,000/‐  2nd prize Rs.15,000/‐. CerHficates and Mementoes Special Jury commendaHon & memento to the three next best films in each district. (Total 42 special jury commendaHon) Total of 70 prizes worth INR 5.60 lacs LITTLE FRAME LITTLE FRAME‐ in Mathrubhumi Daily LITTLE FRAME LITTLE FRAME‐ in Mathrubhumi Daily SEED photo exhibiFons: Photos taken by Mathrubhumi journalists were exhibited through a series of photo exhibi8ons conducted across the state to spread awareness for the need to protect and preserve our environment. This was promoted through our Daily. The exhibi8ons gathered large support from schools/students and also from the general public. PromoHon of the project  
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Front page coverage in Daily for launch and pre‐launch acHviHes for every year from the year of incepHon in 2009. Important SEED acHviHes done by schools are reported in Mathrubhumi daily and made known to the public. Major achievements of SEED schools and events are telecasted in Mathrubhumi News Television channel. Website was developed for SEED(www.mbiseed.com) and was promoted in schools by giving them usernames to login & update their acHviHes. Link to SEED website was provided in Mathrubhumi portal home page (www.mathrubhumi.com) SEED handbooks were distributed among Teacher co‐ordinators SEED posters were displayed on school noHce boards Video campaigns were relayed in other major regional television channels. Wide coverage was given to the project through our FM radio channel(CLUB FM 94.3) EducaHon supplement of our Daily ’VIDYA’ carried important news of SEED on a daily basis. VIDYA was used as a plarorm for sharing informaHon related to various contests like Quiz compeHHons, elocuHon compeHHon etc. PromoHon of the SEED project through Mathrubhumi Daily Supplement carrying SEED news SEED in Mathrubhumi Daily SEED in Mathrubhumi Daily SEED in Mathrubhumi Daily SEED in Mathrubhumi Daily SEED in Mathrubhumi Daily SEED in Mathrubhumi Daily SEED in Mathrubhumi Daily SEED in Mathrubhumi Daily SEED in Mathrubhumi Daily SEED‐ results •  The reports received from the SEED schools for evaluaHon is assessed by the SEED award evaluaHon comminee. The comminee then visits the schools and assesses the facts outlined in the report for compliance. The following are some of the results compiled by the SEED evaluaHon comminee. •  The SEED schools have planted and protected 386712 trees since 2009. •  31,628 kgs of paddy, 53,030 kgs of fruits and 94,238 kgs of vegetables have been harvested as part of agricultural acHviHes. •  12,745 kgs of plasHc waste has been collected as part of “Love PlasHc” for recycling. •  7274 campaigns and 4671 rallies were held to address various environmental issues. •  9831 seminars and 8458 poster exhibiHons have been carried out by SEED schools since incepHon. 75 SEED‐ results •  Classes given by eminent personali8es served great value addi8on for students as well as teacher co‐ordinators. •  On a whole SEED triggered a mass movement towards environmental protec8on. •  SEED crossed the borders of the State of Kerala when it was suo moto implemented in Sree Chaithanya Residen8al High school, Karim Nagar in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The school did agricultural ac8vi8es and raised funds from selling the crops for the purpose of various Social welfare schemes. 76 Ac9vi9es done in schools 4833 6000 3980 5000 3475 4000 1333 1143 1432 0 2009‐10 2010‐11 2011‐12 Total no. of rallies No. of poster exhibi9ons No. of seminars 756 935 693 447 988 1000 1,379 2000 1,599 2133 3000 2325 2,783 Total no. of campaigns 2012‐13 84287 SEED‐ Harvest 90000 80000 70000 46373 60000 50000 Fruits cul9vated (in kgs) 40000 Vegetables cul9vated (in kgs) 26498 30000 2721 1542 2268 7230 5115 2862 20000 10000 Paddy cul9vated (in kgs) 0 2010‐11 2011‐12 2012‐13 Results of the project • 
Large support was received from the Kerala society towards the project. • 
Local environment reports given by schools were published in our respec8ve edi8ons. This helped in gathering public aYen8on towards problems and thereby ensuring faster remedies. • 
Detailed stories and editorial write ups were made on prize winning schools which inspired other schools to join the project. We have seen a considerable increase in the number of schools registered in the second and third years. • 
Significant behavioral changes were seen in students involved in the project. Students began to implement SEED programs in their houses which facilitated energy conserva8on, water conserva8on, proper waste disposal etc. Benefits to the OrganizaHon • 
Enhanced brand image • 
Increased circula8on in last four surveys. • 
Sponsorship revenue of 10 million INR (approx 182000 USD) in 4 years • 
“Madhuram Malayalam”, an ini8a8ve of Mathrubhumi for encouraging reading habit among the student community gained immense recogni8on in schools registered under the SEED project. • 
The project also helped in improving Employee Rela8ons within the organiza8on as employees from various levels and departments worked together for the success of the project. RecogniHons for SEED • 
IAA Olive Crown Awards 2013 • 
Silver Award Category: ‘Documentary & Short Film’. • 
IAA Olive Crown Awards 2012 o  Special Green IniHaHve Award o  Gold Award in Events category o  Silver Award in Green Brand of the year category. • 
WAN‐ IFRA Young Reader Prize 2011‐ Special Jury Award. • 
AFAQS bronze award in the year 2010. • 
Vanamithra award insHtuted by the Kerala Forest Department. • 
Environment award insHtuted by the FoundaHon formed in the name of noted teacher and farmer N.P. Unnipillai. SEED links SEED Website
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www.mbiseed.com SEED TV Campaign
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hnp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54oRN2Ov1OI SEED Youtube channel ‐
hnp://www.youtube.com/mbiseed Thank You