Sharing Indian green know-how
Sharing Indian green know-how
April 30, 2009
Section: Community
WARREN JONES
Australia and India may be worlds apart in some ways, but in others they seem to be remarkably similar.
Last week Indian Environmental Educator Lourde Epinal visited the Wollongong Community Gardens in Wollongong and Cringila Public School on a study tour and said that what he saw was very similar to his own projects in Tamil Nadu in Southern India.
In Tamil Nadu Mr Epinal is working with a government school, with the goal of making it an “eco-school”.
Mr Epinal said it was very important to begin teaching children about the environment.
“Children are our future,” he said.
“Whatever you give to them will spread out to their whole family.”
He also said community gardens such as that at North Wollongong were a great way to create stronger community links.
Mr Epinal’s tour was organised by Quaker Service Australia, the service and overseas aid organisation of the Religious Society of Friends.
Coledale resident Heather Saville has been involved with the QSA for many years, in Australia and overseas.
Ms Saville was among those showing Mr Epinal around the region last week.
She said there were many similarities between the work Mr Epinal was doing and what was being done by parts of the community in the Illawarra.
“Cringila Public School is one of five or six public schools where the Department of Education have contracted for permaculture gardens to be put there as part of the school curriculum,” she said.
“It’s an Australian version virtually of what (Mr Epinal) is doing in Tamil Nadu”
Ms Savillie recently wrote a book about the history of the Quakers in Australia called Friends in Deed.
The book covers the many projects supported by QSA in Vietnam, Cambodia, the Pacific Islands, India, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
The book can be ordered by visiting www.qsa.org.au and following the links.
