https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

School Kids in India Can Now Go for Official Forest Walks

After launching the Panchtatva project five years ago, IRS officer Rohit Mehra has started a programme of inviting school children to man-made forests he has created in various places.
Indian Masterminds Stories

Indian Revenue Service officer Rohit Mehra, who is also known as the Green Man of India, is on a mission to make this world a greener and healthier place to live in. Despite pursuing a career in civil service, Mr. Mehra goes out of his way to also pursue his passion of promoting greenery and educating the masses about its benefits and how they can also contribute to making planet earth green.

For the past four-five years, Mr. Mehra along with his wife Geetanjali Mehra has been educating school children about environment and the ecosystem under the programme, Panchtatva. This is not an ordinary education class as it focuses on explaining the whole ecosystem to the children and then asks them to practically get involved in its betterment.

IRS officer Rohit Mehra with his wife Geetanjali Mehra

And, now, the officer has made a value addition to this programme by starting a comprehensive initiative of inviting school children for forest walks. The forests, where the children are invited, are man-made and have been developed by the officer himself. He has been creating forests for over decades and till now, he has successfully developed around 270 man-made forests all across the country.

PANCHTATVA PROGRAMME

Explaining how a human body is related to the environment, Mr. Rohit Mehra said, “We as human beings are made up of five elements – air, fire, water, space and earth. This is same for the planet as well. Through Panchtatva programme, we reach out to the students of various schools across the country and clear their fundamentals of environment in a very basic way. We explain to them how the planet earth corelates with the humans and how humans are the extension of the planet earth.”

Online lectures on Panchtatva

Under this programme, Mr. Mehra with his team visit the schools to give lectures on the Panchtatva to make students more environmentally conscious. This lecture is taken as an extra learning apart from the regular subjects they study in school. According to Mr. Mehra, the simple theory of how the ecosystem works helps students in various subjects like Biology, EVS, Geography, etc., and also gives them a sense of living a sustainable life.

PRACTICAL WORK

Apart from the theoretical part, the students also engage in practical activities, where they implement the learnings they got from the IRS officer. Preparation of seed balls, making a forest in school, and adopting five green habits are some practical activities students are engaged in after the lecture.

Green-Schooling session organised with parents and children of Ludhiana

The five green habits include – not wasting electricity, writing on both sides of a paper, not wasting water – every day habits that can be incorporated in the children’s lives. Through this, the officer is trying to create a more environment-friendly lifestyle for the kids. Mr. Mehra said, “In these past four-five years, we have taught more that 2.5 lakh students and industry people about the Panchtatva and are in the process of building a bigger team. We play on the concept of learning and then training. We further ask the students we train to train other students and people.”

Students preparing seedballs

FOREST WALKS

Apart from the Panchtatva programme, which has spread over states like Chhattisgarh, Jammu, Punjab, Delhi etc., Mr. Mehra has started a comprehensive project of inviting school children to places where he has created a man-made forest. He said, “By visiting the forest, students get a sense of trees, soil, vegetables, fruits and how a culture is formed in these forests. Once a child visits these forest practically, we believe that they become environment conscious and would take steps for its betterment in future.”

Going deep inside manmade forests

Under this project, around four to five thousand students in Punjab visited forests and had amazing experiences.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
UPSC Image IAS IPS IFS
UPSC CSE-2024 Results Out: Top 2 Places Bagged By Girls, Prayagraj's Shakti Dubey AIR 1, Check Details Here
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL)
Bhuwan Chandra Pathak to Continue as Director (Finance) at NPCIL - Know More About him
coal-India limited
Coal India Signs MoU with DVC to Set Up ₹16,500 Crore Ultra Supercritical Power Plant in Jharkhand
delhi-government-resized
Delhi Government Revises Office Timings as Pollution Levels Drop
indian-forest-service IFS Officers
Court Denies Anticipatory Bail to Former IFS Officer in SRLM Scam
psuwatch_import_wp-content_uploads_2022_02_RBI-recruitment-2019
Minors Above 10 Can Now Open and Operate Bank Accounts Independently: RBI
Inter caste marriage promotion scheme
Inter-Caste Marriage Promotion Scheme: Financial Aid of Rs 2.5 Lakh Granted to Two Couples
KVIC Khadi and Village Industries
Khadi and Village Industries Achieve Historic Growth, Sales Cross ₹1.70 Lakh Crore in 2024-25
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Dr Lokesh M IAS
E-Rickshaw Chaos, Waterlogging, Traffic Mess — Can Noida Fix Its Daily Chaos? | Exclusive with Dr Lokesh M, IAS
IRS Padmapani Bora UPSC
IRS Padmapani Bora’s 16-Year-Long Journey in Governance
WhatsApp Image 2025-04-13 at 1.46
This Collector Finds Happiness In Squeaks Of Children With Hearing Impairment Who Start Hearing After Surgery
UPSC Stories
images (14)
Utsav Anand, the UPSC Topper Who Chose Public Service Over a Plush Career
From IIT Bombay to the 2022 IAS batch (Haryana cadre), Utsav Anand’s journey is proof that sharp minds...
pushplata-yadav-ias
How IAS Pushp Lata’s Strategy and Spirit Took Her to AIR 80
From rural Haryana to IAS, Pushp Lata Yadav’s journey reflects focused planning, adaptation, and the...
IRS Padmapani Bora UPSC
IRS Padmapani Bora’s 16-Year-Long Journey in Governance
IRS officer Padmapani Bora's 16-year career transcends typical bureaucracy. Discover his surprising journey...
Social Media
GozJlgrXYAAHoKv
Murals for Cleanliness: Thoothukudi District Launches Art-Inspired Sanitation Drive in Panchayats
Local artists add colour and messages to village walls, promoting hygiene and community pride
Himanshu Nagpal IAS
Varanasi's Beggar Rehabilitation Initiative Recognised by UIDAI, CDO Himanshu Nagpal Shares the News
Mr. Himanshu Nagpal is a 2019-batch IAS officer
IAS Vaishali Chopra
Young IAS Vaishali Chopra Takes a Stand Against Caste Bias During Field Training in Uttar Pradesh
While the issue itself may seem small, the post is resonating widely online for its honest reflection...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
UPSC Image IAS IPS IFS
UPSC CSE-2024 Results Out: Top 2 Places Bagged By Girls, Prayagraj's Shakti Dubey AIR 1, Check Details Here
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL)
Bhuwan Chandra Pathak to Continue as Director (Finance) at NPCIL - Know More About him
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Dr Lokesh M IAS
IRS Padmapani Bora UPSC
WhatsApp Image 2025-04-13 at 1.46
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT