Green Property: The Pride of Kabi Jagadram Roy Government General Degree College

Introduction

The concept of green campus is an integration concept in the Education research and community service system in environmental management. Green campus is a combination of the environment and the campus world in its management. The concept of the environment which includes 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle), greening and so on are combined with the campus concept which consists of the physical condition of the campus, campus location and the behaviour of campus residents. Basically, it’s an eco-friendly practice to make the campus a better place to live in. The green campus concept offers an institution the opportunity to take the lead in redefining its environmental culture and developing new paradigms by creating sustainable solutions to environmental, social, and economic needs of mankind. Sustainable environment in college campus impacts students’ lives positively. Studies have shown that students studying in active green campuses have better retention capacity, environmental behavior, and community solidarity, etc. As an educational institution, Kabi Jagadram Roy Government General Degree College is aware of its duty to educate the youth on the importance of conserving the environment by encouraging the adoption of a sustainable lifestyle. The college is committed to fostering a culture of environmental responsibility and sustainability within its campus.

Carbon Neutrality

Kabi Jagadram Roy Government General Degree College, over the years, has been trying to maintain carbon neutrality through a number of following measures:

• Giving more importance in the greenery and plantation program within the college promise for more supply of oxygen and reduction of gaseous form of carbon.
• The personal vehicles used by the staff members conform to state defined pollution rules and matches with Euro IV specifications to reduce carbon emission.
• Installation of low energy lights in the new infrastructure has been done within the campus.

Solid Waste Management

• Measures have been taken for minimal or optimal use of papers: Instead of taking hard copies of documents, keep in digital format as far as possible.
• Strategies to lessen the generation of paper waste are adopted: double-sided printing, printing in reduced font size, printing in “fast draft” mode etc.
• E-billing is promoted to reduce use of paper.
• Colour coded dustbin system is employed for segregation of solid waste: green dustbins for biodegradable wastes like food, yellow dustbins for disposal of paper wastes and red dustbins for disposal of plastic wastes.
• The biodegradable wastes are used to generate fertilizer using the compost pit.

Plantation

Plantation programs within the college premise are held on a regular basis involving students, faculty and staff, to increase the campus’s green cover. Till now we have planted more than 3000 trees in our campus and among them more than 2000 trees have survived.

• We prioritize the planting of native plant species, which require less maintenance and support local biodiversity. We have planted native species like Mahua, Piyasal, Kusum, Indian Gooseberry, Bahera, and Ashok which have become very rare.
• Along with the native species we have planted more than 300 fruit trees containing species like Mango, Malabar Plum, Java Apple, Jackfruit, Banana, Falsa, Guava, Papaya, Star Fruit, Wood Apple, Tamarind, and Elephant Apple in the college premises.

Butterfly Garden

A butterfly garden has been set up featuring both the host plants like Lemon, Passion flower, Oleander and nectar plants like Ixora, Tridax and Lantana. Habitat degradation is a multivariate issue. Many natural butterfly habitats have been lost to human activities like the construction of buildings and roads, use of pesticides and herbicides and even woody encroachment, and non-native plants. Creating new habitat reduces the impacts of habitat fragmentation and degradation. A butterfly garden can create, improve, and maintain the habitat of the butterflies. It helps to increase the number and diversity of butterflies in our immediate surroundings which in turn creates a healthy ecosystem.

Herbal Garden

A designated herbal garden showcases more than 30 varieties of medicinal plants has been set up for promoting the knowledge of indigenous medicine among the students.

Floral Diversity

During the campus survey, we have recorded plants of different families like Leguminosae, Asteraceae, Apocynaceae, Bignoniaceae, Amaranthaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Poaceae, Lamiaceae, and Myrtaceae. More than 100 varieties of plants can be seen in the college premises.

Faunal Diversity

During the campus survey, different types of animal species were recorded including Mammals (8 sp), Reptiles (10 sp), Amphibian (3 sp), Birds (36 sp), Butterflies (42 sp). Some rare species like Fishing Cat, Bengal Fox, Indian Rock Python, and Paradise Flycatcher can be seen in the college premises which are hardly seen anywhere else in this locality. The college premises acts like a safe haven for different types of venomous snakes like Crait, Russell’s Viper and Indian Cobra as we consider them as an integral part of the ecosystem.