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SIOLIM'S FESTIVAL OF PLANTS AND
FLOWERS
The students of over 20 schools participated enthusiastically in the very interesting exhibition, in which Goa's seven top plant nurseries set up their stalls selling plants of every kind and things meant for gardening. There were stalls of bamboo craft by CD Varghese from Thane, exotic coconut-craft articles by Lotlikar of SFX School in Moira, and beautiful craft work of talented students.
At the inaugural function, Club Co-ordinator Diogo Seby Pinto
recalled the contribution of Alexyz Fernandes in initiating the
Plant Festival at Siolim in 1992. The contribution of the initial
team of Lawrie Fernandes, Joel D'Souza, Johni Rodrigues, Seby
Rodrigues, Seby Mascarenhas, Miguel Braganza and Francis Bcomes that
set up the ball rolling then was remembered nostalgically. Also
recalled was the dynamic role of Ms Lumena Lobo, from the second
year to date, as an enthusiastic participant and for comanisational
support, from tagging and coding plants to tasteful display and
protection of exhibits. The Botanical Society of Goa displayed a step-by-step do-it-yourself kit on designing and making paper bags with handles. This kit was prepared by Miguel and Aarti Bordekar to teach the SFX students how to make paper bags. On display, were the bags prepared by the students. The underlying message spreads ideally to twenty other schools, from as far as Ponda and other places, competing in the various competitions at this festival. Also displayed were photographs on sand dune vegetation.
The plant loving Siolkars must be hugely grateful to Rev Fr Tony and SFX Higher Secondary School for hosting the grand event graciously, and for embedding plants and flowers…and talent…in Siolim's long list of typical traditions, which include feni, fish, football…the unique Sao Joao Boat Parade…and the rustic Wednesday Bazaar. |
"A village
school seems an unlikely venue to host an event on such a large
scale. It will surely serve as an example for others. Exhibitions
like these also make the students aware of various career
opportunities in tune with nature--plant nurseries, landscaping,
biotechnology, taxanomy, mushroom cultivation, vermiculture, spice
cultivation, medicinal plants and other related aspects," said Dr
NPS Varde, Director of Science, Technology & Environment
(Goa).
Dr Varde
was speaking, on August 31, at the 3-day Festival of Plants and
Flowers, comanised by the Green Heritage Eco-club of St Francis
Xavier's Higher Secondary School, Siolim. The Club is affiliated to
the Botanical Society of Goa. "Such exhibitions leave a lasting
impression on students. One exhibition can be better than ten talks
in career guidance," said Dr. Varde. He congratulated the Green
Heritage for comanising this festival for the tenth time in ten
consecutive years.
There were
a number of competitions like flower arrangements, vegetable
carving, garland making, poster drawing, home gardens (for Siolim
schools only), etc. Bonsai expert Daniel D'Souza, from Assagao,
displayed four of his exotic plants: the bird-nest fern (Asplenium),
Zamia (living fossil), the bird-nest fern and the ponytail plant.
There was a special home Garden Competition for the students
residing in Siolim only and a potted plants competition open to
public.
The
Siolim plant festival has been growing in popularity every year.
This year's festival featured very interesting projects on
sustainable development. The school students focussed primarily on
recycling, in an admirable project entitled "Wealth From Wastes".
The two predominant categories selected were biodegradable wastes
such as coconut shells, cloth, wood, etc, and non-biodegradable
wastes such as plastics, old CDs, thermocol, metal, etc.
The superschool complex, led by SFX Higher Secondary, put
up wide-ranging projects. The Holy Cross High School had on display
a home-made overhead slide projector. Keerti Vidyalaya came up with
a clap-switch based home automation system "Time-saving Project".
Vasant Vidyalaaya put up recycling of water while Damodar Vidyalaya
rigged up a wind energy plus a solar energy harnessing model. The
insulated box-paper 'rice cooker' project of Holy Cross High School,
however, attracted most attention. It illustrated the conservation
of fuel while cooking. The Shard Freezer and electricity biomas
model by Ajit and Kassim also drew curious glances.
During the 3-day festival, the vast school
hall, packed with a wide variety of plants and related items, was
visited by a continuous flow of schools students, parents and
general public, from all over Bardez and Pernem talukas. Green
Heritage's seeds sown a decade ago have borne a handsome harvest
already, with a number of schools in Goa having picked up the
interest to comanise similar plant exhibitions.