Thursday, February 11, 2010

Generation Next: Rain Water Harvesting Field Trip

Generation Next: Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) Field Trip
October 9, 2009

Introduction
Sackhumvit Trust collaborated with Dream School Foundation (DSF) to organize a field trip for students at DSF's Yeshwantpur and R.T. Nagar education and development centres to learn about RWH. This field trip was made possible due to the generosity of A.R. Shivakumar, the Principal Investigator for RWH at the Karnataka State Council of Science and Technology (KSCST), who agreed to share his expertise on the subject with our students. Sackhumvit Trust was fortunate to meet Shivakumar during a workshop organized by KSCST and Environmental Support Group (ESG), a civil society organization dedicated to environmental campaigns and education initiatives in India. Sackhumvit Trust would like to thank KSCST and ESG for there valuable support to our program. We would also like to thank DSF for encouraging students to participate in this workshop. 

Workshop Details
The RWH workshop took place on October 9, 2009, from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm. A total of 54 students from 7th-9th standards attended the field trip representing 8 government schools in Bangalore . The objective of the field trip was to sensitize students to Bangalore’s disappearing urban lakes and impending water crisis, while suggesting RWH as an alternative and effective supply of water. Several school teachers and DSF facilitators attended the workshop to learn how they can implement RWH at their homes and schools.

The field trip commenced with a brief presentation by Ms. Ayesha Hashim to students at Yeshwantpur centre introducing RWH and its relevance to Bangalore’s rapid urbanization. Following the presentation, students traveled to the KSCST’s office at the Indian Institute of Science (IIS) campus located on Yeshwantpur road. Students met Mr. Navnesh, an engineer working with Shivakumar, who hosted a detailed presentation followed by an examination of RWH facilities on IIS campus.

Student Participation
Students enjoyed the field trip and actively participated in the question and answer discussion following Mr. Navnesh’s presentation. Some of the questions asked by students are detailed below:
  • Vincent: Is acid rain a problem and does this limit the use of RWH in Bangalore?
    • Mr. Navnesh responded that acid rain is a problem for most industrialized countries. However, Bangalore is unique in that the acidity of rainfall has been minimal as demonstrated by data collected over the past 100 years. This means that water collected from RWH is clean and usable.
  • Prasana: Why isn’t the government doing more to implement RWH in all households?
    • Mr. Navnesh responded that the government has implemented RWH in all of its office and campus locations. The government has recently mandated that all new households have RWH facilities.
  • Kavia: How do we make sure that water collected from RWH does not get contaminated with bacteria?
    • Mr. Navnesh mentioned that harvested water must be stored in a dark and air tight location to prevent bacteria growth. This will ensure that water remains usable for an extended period of time.
  • Karthik: How does one determine whether to use sand bed or nylon filters for cleaning water collected from RWH?
    • Mr. Navnesh mentioned that sand bed filters are generally utilized in rural locations whereas nylon filters are implemented in urban settings.
  • Asha: How can low-income families afford RWH facilities? Is it possible to replace cement pipes with bamboo?
    • Mr. Navnesh indicated that bamboo is a cost-effective alternative for building RWH facilities at home. He also mentioned that the largest cost of RWH is the water sump and that it excluding this item, it should only cost Rs. 5,000 to construct RWH infrastructure. The cost of the water sump largely depends on the desired size and location-specific requirements of the building.
  •  Likitha: How can families who live in rented apartments implement RWH technology?
    • Mr. Navnesh indicated that many buildings have pipes that drain rain water collected at roofs, and that concerned students could place a bucket under these pipes to collect rain water for their households. He also mentioned that a white plain cloth could be placed on top of the bucket to filter the rain water. Collected water could be used for cleaning the house, watering plants, and so on.

Conclusion and Next Steps
To conclude the workshop, students conveyed their gratitude to Mr. Navnesh for sharing his knowledge on RWH. All students expressed that they found the workshop to be very engaging, informative, and inspiring. Students at Yeshwantpur were particularly keen to conduct an experiment measuring how much rain water they can collect at home. Many of them brought in bottles filled with rain water to class the following day!!


As part of its Holistic School Development Program (HSDP), DSF is working with government schools at Nelemangala and Old Airport Road (Chalgatta School) that already have RWH facilities. However, the infrastructure at these schools needs to be revamped with a new filtration system and cleaning of the water sump. DSF is also working with a new government school in R.T. Nagar (currently under construction) and would like to incorporate RWH facilities as part of the school’s infrastructure. Sackhumvit Trust is interested in coordinating a project with DSF to enhance the RWH facilities of these schools.

Sackhumvit Trust welcomes the opportunity to organize classroom activities, workshops, and field trips that educate low-income youth on ecological and social issues relevant to their well-being. We look forward to working with DSF to enhance the RWH facilities at government schools benefiting from HSDP, thereby contributing a valuable environmental dimension to this project.

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