The Department of Environment and Forests, Chandigarh Administration and ENVIS HUB, in collaboration with NGO – Youth Innovative Society, celebrated World Ozone Day by organizing a painting and Slogan Writing competition and Quiz Competition for various schools Around 300 Students Participated in both events in botanical garden.
The theme for year 2018 world ozone day was “Keep Cool and Carry On”. The theme is accompanied by the tagline: The Montreal Protocol. This protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer (ODS) has so far been successful in phasing out 99% ODS globally.
Sh. T.C Nautiyal, IFS, Conservator of Forests, was invited as the chief guest and deputy conservator of Forests Dr. Abdul Qayum as the guest of honor along with other forest and environment department officials. Notion was to celebrate this special day to mark the event when the Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987. The aim of this was to mainly spread awareness about the depletion of the ozone Layer and search for solutions to preserve it.
The World Ozone Day has been marked by United Nations with the ultimate goal to spread awareness about protection of ozone layer around the planet. For this purpose, a Painting or Quiz Competition for children was launched that helped to celebrate accomplishments of Montreal Protocol in protecting climate and ozone layer, to increase public recognition of success and impact protocol and to generate more support for protocol and it’s news phases which were adopted in 2016.
Climate change and ozone depletion are two global issues that are different but have many connections. In the ozone depletion case, purpose was to collaborate with decision makers so that an international agreement could be achieved that could essentially solve the ozone depletion problem. Conservator of forests appealed to children to spread ozone day’s message in their respective schools.
The topic for both the Painting Competition was ‘Caring for all life under the Sun’ which was in tune with this year’s theme. Teachers made a relentless effort to interact with students and explained how depletion of ozone layer affects living beings and nature.
Experts in the field marked their presence in the programme, like the Range Forest Officer Sh. Pradeep Gulia and other officials of the department of environment and ENVIS Hub, Chandigarh. Students were awarded in the Painting, Slogan Writing, and Quiz competition respectively. St. Josephs Sr. Secondary School bagged first prize, IS Dev Samaj bagged second prize and Govt Model Senior Secondary School 38 (West) DMC bagged third prize in quiz competition. Aastha of Govt model Senior Secondary school Ramdarbaar (Karsaan) bagged first prize, Yasmeen of Govt Girls Model Senior Secondary School Sector 18 bagged second prize and Chhavi of St. Josephs Senior Secondary School bagged third prize in Painting and Slogan Writing Competition.