Association for Social and Environmental Development
 | |
| Company type | Non-profit Organisation |
|---|---|
| Founded | September 2001 |
| Founders | Diti Mookherjee and Rekha Basu |
| Headquarters | Kolkata , India |
Area served | Kolkata, Delhi, Odisha, Hisar, and Sunderbans |
| Website | http://www.asedkol.org/ |
The Association for Social and Environmental Development (ASED) is an Indian, non-profit organisation headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal, India and registered under Section 25 of the Indian Companies Act.[1]
With an aim to establish an ecologically resilient society through the creation of youth nature leaders, the association employs a pragmatic approach to nature conservation. It undertakes programmes for school students that inculcate a love for nature in them and inspire action to protect and enhance the natural environment in which they live.
ASED has worked with over 200 schools across the country. It has three flagship programmes, the ‘Green Rhinos’ programme, ‘Nature Smart’ and ‘Nature Club’. These programmes are conducted under the guidance of the Chief Executive Officer, Diti Mookherjee, a Fulbright-Nehru Fellow for Environmental Leadership.[2]
History
Founded by Diti Mookherjee and Rekha Basu on 7 September, 2001, the Association for Social and Environmental Development (ASED) was established in order to actively engage youth in nature conservation in a sustained manner. [3]
Approach
The Association for Social and Environmental Development upholds three core values, which it abides by in order to fulfil its goal of nature conservation through youth empowerment. The organisation prides itself on being authentic, caring and most importantly, youth-friendly. Its authentic and receptive nature makes it dependable and trustworthy. Moreover, it being youth-friendly allows students to express themselves freely and promotes collaboration among them. As facilitators and not teachers, the organisation looks to promote the health and well-being of students through its various campaigns. It believes in developing students’ skills through informal, hands-on activities such as discussions, interactive games, surveys and field trips. What makes the organisation efficient in realizing the above is setting short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals.[4]
Programmes
Green Rhinos Programme
Launched in April 2012, the Green Rhinos programme[5] envisions the existence of an Earth in which the youth, acting as a community, adopts a lifestyle which is ecologically resilient in nature. The programme hopes to fulfil the above objective through the creation of youth nature leaders involved in nature conversation through a transformational leadership process. The success of various biodiversity-related projects conducted by the Association for Social and Environmental Development extending from 2004-2010 convinced the Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, Diti Mookherjee, to initiate a structured programme which would involve the active participation of students to develop their own projects relating to conservation. Thus, supported by the Rufford Foundation[6], the Green Rhinos programme was established in several schools in the Sundarbans in 2012 after which it was extended to Kolkata, Delhi, Orissa, and Hisar as well to include a total of 17 schools.
The methodology of the programme involves the formation of a Green Rhinos team comprising fifty ‘nature smart’ middle school students and two mentors. After nature orientation, seminars, audio-visual presentations, discussions and interactive games, the students are provided with the necessary tools required to create school-based projects which are to be executed in six months. The ASED team helps them to gain access to resources during the stipulated period and once the ten-month program cycle is completed, a ‘sharing workshop’ is held and the Green Rhinos receive a badge and certificate. The efforts of the organisation have resulted in the creation of over 3500 Green Rhinos who have successfully conducted various projects such as raising two thousand saplings and planting and nurturing as many as twenty thousand trees in the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve and creating a butterfly garden within the Maheshtala Girls High School campus.[7]
Nature Club
The ‘Nature Club’ campaign was initiated in 2015 with a view to assist students to establish nature clubs in their schools in order to enable them to become forces for nature by actively participating in nature conservation. A year-long project that can be carried forward by students themselves, Nature Club allows students to undertake various activities which will better their immediate environment.[citation needed]
Nature Smart
A unique campaign aimed at focusing on the development of the health and well-being of children, ‘Nature Smart’ will be launched by ASED in mid-2017. The primary objectives of the campaign are to work with eight to eleven year-old students to develop a love for and understanding of nature as well as the skills of observation, data-collection, analysis and the ability to draw logical conclusions through discussions, seminars, interactive games, outdoor activities, and so on.[citation needed]
Awards Won
- Certificate of Recognition for Commitment towards the Environment awarded to the Green Rhinos on Earth Day at Salt Lake Sector V by Infinity Benchmark, 2017.[citation needed]
- Membership of The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) awarded to the Association for Social and Environmental Development.[citation needed]
The CEO of ASED, Diti Mookherjee, has won a number of awards for the work she has done for the organisation. They include:
- “2013 Leader of Impact” Finalist by the Global Women’s Leadership Network.[citation needed]
- Certificate of Completion with regard to the Women Leaders for the World Program by Santa Clara, California, United States, December 2011.[citation needed]
- Certificate of Completion with regard to the Fulbright Scholarship Programme conducted by the J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States department of State, November 2011.[citation needed]
- Certificate of Recognition for (her) contribution in spreading awareness on environmental issues by The Rotary Club of Calcutta.[citation needed]
Publications
References
- ^ http://www.asedkol.org/gallery.html
- ^ http://www.asedkol.org/aboutus.html
- ^ http://india.ashoka.org/how-does-green-rhinos-program-intend-create-youth-nature-leaders
- ^ http://www.asedkol.org/Docs/ASED_Methodology.pdf
- ^ https://medium.com/green-rhinos
- ^ http://www.rufford.org/
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/GreenRhinos/
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