10 – 12 years
Caring for my environment
The environment is something we must love and care for. It is something we must be thankful and grateful for. Caring for the environment is important as students and as adults but it is very disappointing and heart-breaking to see our own people polluting the environment knowingly and heartlessly. The environment is our future and what brings life to us.
We as students can do great things for the existence of our environment. The main thing is to stop dumping waste or using polythene, plastic or anything harmful to the environment on the roads, gardens or anywhere you go. You could help the environment by planting a few trees in your garden or village and help your grandparents or any adult engaging in such activities. You could also divide your garbage into separate bins. You could do lots of things like this to show gratitude to the environment.
We have to use our brains and consider when doing something, making sure it is harmless to the environment. Let’s all help in caring for the environment in every way we can.
Nadithi Kulasekera (10 years)
Ladies’ College, Colombo
13 – 15 years
The effects of the lockdown on the environment
Due to the pandemic, we have all been locked up inside our residencies, depressed and anxious. But what has become of the environment? On an ordinary day, nature has its limits. Birds don’t wander freely above the roads, trees are cut down and animals struggle to survive. But when you flip the coin the other way around, we are the ones inside.
For more than two months, workers could not go to work. And what was the result? The world is becoming more beautiful. With the frequent rains and bright sunshine, trees have been doing well. They grow new branches, young leaves erupt. The flowers are blooming in plenty, the fruits are ripe. All this while, mankind is moaning their plight. In a photograph of Colombo, there was the Lotus Tower, standing tall and proud in the background, and the road was littered. No, not by man, but by nature… There was a chrysanthemum tree in bloom, and the roads were scattered with fallen flowers. In addition to that, water is getting purified and the air is getting cleaner in many parts around the world. As for the little animals: birds and squirrels moved around freely when the world was in lockdown – you could hear them any given minute as long as the sun was shining. Perhaps they thought: “Humans kept us inside; now it is their time.”
In fact, though the lockdown wasn’t in our favour, it was certainly in Mother Nature’s!
Ifadha Deen (14 years)
Leeds Int. School, Galle
