BRACU Celebrates Earth Day: A Call to Repair, Reuse, and Repurpose

On April 26th, students from various schools such as Viqarunnisa Noon School (VNS), St. Joseph International School, and Shaheed Bir Uttam Lt. Anwar Girls’ School & College came dressed in school uniforms to Brac University’s Multipurpose Hall along with Hashimukh School, an underprivileged educational institution, to take part in the Earth Day Celebration organized by Brac University’s Outreach Programme along with Bangladesh Sustainability Alliance and BRAC Centre for Climate and Environment Research.

The program started with the guests highlighting the core theme of the programme: “Repair, Reuse, Repurpose”. Kazi Bushra Ahmed Tithi (Cultural Specialist, Embassy of Japan) and Professor Shaila Sultana, Ph.D (Director and Professor, BIL)  joined the program as chief guest, exploring the principles of origami through amazing workshops setting the thematic mood for the day.

Afterwards, Art for Arter taught students how to make jewelry using waste materials while Wonder Garden BD taught how to use kitchen waste in gardens. Entertaining games using modified electronics were prepared by Brac University Electrical and Electronic Club. Additionally, the BRAC Centre for Climate and Environment Research held a session on upcycling. Later, the students were shown around the campus to learn how the university employs eco-friendly policies and practices zero-waste activities.

After the lunch break, some thought-provoking short films were shown, including an animated piece that depicted polar bears facing a “refugee crisis” due to global meltdown. Afterwards, gifts brought in by the prestigious schools were distributed among the Hashimukh School students.

 The day ended with a quiz and final comments from Dr. David Dowland (Registrar, BracU) and the visiting schools’ special guests. The session made the youngsters understand the necessity to recycle and conserve the environment. As Protiti, a student of VNS noted, “It was a really enjoyable day where we not only had fun games but we learnt a lot.”