Children in the Kattupakkam Centre during the drawing competition

One of the key pre-congress activities related to World Congress on Agroforestry 2014 was a painting and essay-writing competition for schoolchildren. The objective of activity was to promote a love for trees and nature in the young generation, so they can develop into citizens conscious of their duty to care for the environment. Similar to the Congress, the theme of the competition was ‘Trees for Life.’

The competition had two categories: a painting competition for 6 to 12-year-olds and an essay competition for 13 to 18-years-olds.

It was well publicized through announcements on the official web pages of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, and the National Research Centre for Agroforestry (NRCAF), Jhansi. Information on the competition was also displayed on Facebook pages and sent to the pan-India database of more than 264 schools, 25 State agricultural universities countrywide, and to the officers-in-charge of coordinating centres of the All India Coordinated Research Project on Agroforestry (AICRP). The competition was also publicised in the NRCAF newsletter.

The competition recorded an overwhelming response, with the participation of children from 18 States: Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Island, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, New Delhi, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand and West Bengal. About 56 per cent of the participants were girls.

The entries were judged by an independent jury.

The President of the Indian Society of Agroforestry Dr Shiv Kumar Dhyani announced the results on 15 January 2014. He congratulated the winners, their parents and teachers, and thanked all the children who participated in the competition.

The winners of essay competition are:

• 1st Prize: Km. Nisitha Pattanaik, daughter of Shri Kshitish Chandra Pattanaik. Bhubaneswar, Odisha
• 2nd Prize: Mr. V.S. Naveen Kumar, son of R. Saravanan. Karamadai, Dist.- Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
• 3rd Prize: Mr. Prashant Kaushik, son of Shri J.L. Sharma. Mathura , Uttar Pradesh

The winners of painting competition are:

• 1st Prize: Km. V. Niharika, daughter of S. Varada Rajan.K.K. Pudur, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
• 2nd Prize: Km.Bidyasha Harichandan, daughter of Benudhar Harichandan. IRC Village, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
• 3rd Prize: Km. Vaishvi Shah, daughter of Dr. Sarvesh Kumar Shah. SDAU, Sardarkrushinagar, Gujarat

V. Niharika’s prizewinning illustration
of the role of trees in our lives
(Click on the picture to see the full size drawing)

Km. Nisitha Pattanaik from Bhubaneswar, who won the first prize in the essay competition, elaborated in a very interesting and emphatic way the role of trees in our lives and the future of human and animal life on earth, as well as the need to conserve our environment and biodiversity by saving trees and forests. Similarly, the first-prize winner in the painting competition, Km. V. Niharika from Tamil Nadu, illustrated the role of trees in our lives in a very beautiful and colourful way.

The winners of the competition will receive their prizes and certificates from the Honorable President of India, as part of the Congress opening ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on 10 February 2014.

The organizers of the World Congress on Agroforestry congratulate all the winners and look forward to being part of one of their proudest moments, in Delhi!

Blogpost and illustration with thanks to Dr A K Handa