1. Educational benefits - Villagers will be enlightened about the improvement in educational level by inclusion of computers and increased hours when students can study in their homes with the help of electricity generated by solar energy.
2. Encouragement of village businesses – Electricity will open up opportunity for villagers to set up businesses like using flour machine, ironing of clothes, selling cold drinks using refrigerators etc. which require electricity to run.
3. Villagers’ ownership and involvement – Villagers will be made to realize that they will be involved in the development of solar power plant and electricity production under their own ownership by preaching the slogan “Hamari bijli hamare naam”.
4. Employment Opportunities – Villagers will be shown the long term forecast of the manpower requirement in the project with the future probable salary that will be offered so that it creates a hope for employment opportunity.
5. Development of the Village – Villagers will be shown the vision of future development where an uninterrupted power supply in the village may encourage investors and entrepreneurs to invest to develop hospitals, schools and banks etc. in the village along with other infrastructure development.
6. Skills for sustainable future – Solar engineers will impart skills to the selected villagers (mostly women) so that the village becomes self-sustainable for producing electricity and also for future operation & maintenance of the solar plant.
7. Real life examples of solar power implementation & Promotion through village students.

Last year, in 2011, we recycled 2.000 tons of waste, producing over 700 tons of compost. We employed 35 persons, within the poorest of the city (some of them where trying to find something interesting on the dump in order to survive – often without education and decent place to live).
The laboratory analysis of the final product and the tests in agriculture confirm the high quality of our product. Also, our clients, mainly living in “residential” areas (300 persons since last year), were all satisfied with the “unbelievable” results of using our compost on their garden (they now have luxuriant garden where normally plants where almost not growing up – even with vegetables).
Right now we are entering in the agriculture market in order to increase our sales significantly and to participate to the sustainability of peri-urban agriculture. Compost permits to improve conservation of depleted soils of Beira (sandy soils that do not allow the use of chemical fertilizer). It also increases crop yields and revenues of farmers.

Cowpower enables BC’s businesses, homes and events to improve their environmental sustainability and support sustainable local farming by injecting renewable electricity onto BC’s energy grid from Waste-2-Energy systems to match a percentage of the electricity their business, home or event uses. Payments to Cowpower for clean renewable electricity, which are made separately and in addition to utility service payments (e.g. BC Hydro), are used to support BC farmers build Waste-2-Energy systems.

Our program targets youth between 14 and 18 years old, in particular youth who have demonstrated at-risk tendencies such as: extended school absences, identified mental health issues, lack of positive family support, drug and alcohol abuse and other such issues. Canoe Journeys is offered 2 to 3 times a week, and our engaging activities draw youth in to participate. We teach skills such as food gathering and preservation that youth can use in their everyday lives and that empower them to give to their families and communities. An example of this is when youth learned to assemble (hang) an entire river fishing net for the tradition food fishery river. Elders and professional fishermen taught the youth, and then the fish caught was donated to the Elders Day Program in Skidegate.

Green Freight will employ one part time person to supervise the planting, feeding and harvesting of the produce. The project will provide opportunities for school children to participate in planting throughout the year as it matches with their curriculum. The project will also function as a volunteer location for youth participating in the Restorative Justice program. Throughout the spring and summer, the project will act as an agricultural hub to expose residents to the potential in their own yards. Residents will have direct access to the produce grown by the project and as that expands, it will move towards a more traditional community supported agriculture model. Additionally, being run off the grid, the project will promote alternative energy, water conservation as well as being a conversational catalyst for food security issues. Donated produce will ensure that income is not a barrier to nutritionally rich food choices. Overall Green Freight will increase community resilience to food shocks and transportation interruptions, improve knowledge about local food production and harness the power of the community to inspire real change that will benefit everyone.

The way that this method of building makes a difference is found in the superior finished product, in comparison to
the way homes are made at this time. It's rather like comparing an astronaut to a dinosaur. The characteristics of the finished home using this method and materials far exceed those of conventional housing. The building envelope is vastly stronger, and virtually earthquake and hurricane-proof. It is also fire-proof, and will not rot, create mold or mildew, and cannot be attacked by termites or other insects that can damage our homes. If homes were made in this fashion in the American tornado belt, my feeling is that most of those decimated houses would still be standing. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a single home in a completely demolished neighborhood
was photographed intact. It is one that was built using this alternative method.

This is made possible by the superior strength and method of building utilized in this well engineered design/material marriage, and is truly a remarkable idea which just simply makes a lot of sense. This method presents solutions on many levels to interconnected problems that are inherent in today's housing fiasco.

The Austrian creator of this green building method approached construction from a standpoint of practicality.

Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, has built houses for Habitat for Humanity in the summer months. With a
small crew of five, multiple homes were completed to lock up stage within a week. Homes of this type would
be a plus for First Nations that are currently very under served.

The BC Communities in Bloom program values a high level of co-operation between individuals, businesses, service clubs and local government to make visible improvements within their community. The judge’s evaluation report acknowledges the positive with valuable suggestions to help the community recognize their future potential.

Whether a community’s aim is increased tourism, general economic development or simply building civic pride, the face it presents to its citizens, and to others, is a key factor in achieving these goals. People and businesses want to be associated with a successful looking community, which is of particular importance to new residents, investors and visitors.

It is also true that citizens want real environmental integrity in their green spaces and respect for the geographical and regional heritage of their area. Achieving such integrity requires good horticultural practices and a visible valuing of the community’s heritage sends a reassuring message that the area honours its past thereby increasing its desirability as a destination for visitors, investment and most importantly residents.

SERVICES Impartial judges visit and grade the community on the criteria listed below and create a report:
 Community Involvement
 Tidiness Effort
 Environmental Awareness
 Heritage conservation
 Urban Forestry
 Landscaped (includes Turf and Groundcover areas)
 Floral displays
Once judging is completed, each community receives a report containing specific recommendations to strengthen their community in each of the key criteria areas.

In April of 2012, a landmark study was released by Restore America's Estuaries (RAE) which for the first time linked ecologically important coastal habitat restoration with adaptation and mitigation strategies as a way to reduce the impacts of ongoing global climate change. Eelgrass meadows lie in the intertidal areas of estuaries. The scientific literature shows that this marine flowering plant sequesters carbon much better by several magnitudes of anything on land. The K’omoks estuary had been dredged and logs boomed at several locations from the earliest part of the last century until the beginning of the new century. All of the damaging industry has gone and there now is a community will to protect, preserve and restore. Older residents have provided information on historical areas for eel grass and the younger generation will facilitate the planting and restoration. This collaboration of all in our community will facilitate bringing back British Columbia’s second most important estuary towards its former level of abundance and directly contribute to climate action. Our pilot project will provide the evidence necessary to help establish carbon offset parameters for coastal estuaries which can then be used by all coastal communities.

Typically, volunteer "Citizen Scientists" spend one week on East Limestone Island assisting in the various research programs based out of the field camp. This includes capture and release of Ancient Murrelet chicks, burrow monitoring of Cassin's Auklets and Pigeon Guillemots, at-sea surveys for seabirds and ducks, marine mammal sightings, forest bird observation, inventory of rare plants, surveys of Black Oystercatcher populations and nest scrape sites in Gwaii Haanas, Glaucous-winged Gull surveys, introduced species monitoring, and various other stewardship related tasks. Similarly, students from local schools visit the island to learn about the research programs and assist in the Ancient Murrelet monitoring.

The overarching theme is the engagement and involvement of relatively untrained community members and students in real conservation efforts and valuable research in a remote field location.

Over our 23 years of operation, we have had over 550 volunteers spend at least one week in our field camp. Approximately half of them have been from local communities, while 59 have been international visitors from 15 different countries.
We have hosted over 600 elementary and secondary-school students from 5 different schools in 85 separate visits.
We offer an internship program for senior-year post-secondary students studying biology, environmental sciences, or similar programs. This provides them with invaluable hands-on field experience related to their studies. We have had 20 post-secondary students working or studying at our field camp since 1990.

We are running such a school in a village since June 2005 based on our grass root level work in villages since August 1992.

An acquaintance brought 16 year old boy in July 2007 seeking a job for him.
Compulsions of life had made that boy quit the school after 6th standard to work as a child laborer at a tender age of 11. His mother was working as a domestic help and father was not staying with the family. But Kaliyuva Mane encouraged him to study. In 2010, he passed 10th standard public exams in English medium. Now he is doing Industrial Training Course in Electronics course.

In 2007, one woman had come to our school for washing vessels. None of her children were going to schools. Father was working in a mutton shop and had neglected his family responsibilities. 10+ year young Khushi joined our school as a resident scholar. There was no school for her. If she had joined 5th standard in the main stream school, she would have understood nothing. If she had studied in 1st standard, it would have been a humiliation to her. At our school, she completed X standard public examination in 2012 and now pursuing a course in dance.

Kaliyuva Mane is a quasi-residential innovative school for OUT OF SYSTEM children. These include school dropouts, first generation school goers, child labourers, children going to school but not reaching the grades, children unable to adjust to the strict regimen of the school among other cases. For details click on the links below:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kar

I am currently teaching Integrated Science class VII. I tried to incorporate social issues in the learning process in science class. First, we create a holistic thematic learning centralized on "Young Researchers." Then the students create a project, a group assignment. In gathering the knowledge and understanding of social issues, students create a vision board containing their expectation for a better condition and what to do as a young researcher.
The next stage, we screened motivational films about inspiring youth, then conduct discussion to discover the strength and advantages of each, and how it can contribute to solving social problem. This stage is called "book of me."
After the project is completed, the next step, students are given the opportunity to develop social ideas in extracurricular activities that can be done outside of school hours. Students will undergo a fascinating learning experience, they can choose to do advocacy or volunteering.
Finally, a social initiative was born, e.g. Some made a very interesting campaign, namely "Cardboard Puppet,” telling the story of how social issues can be addressed. Some create scientific presentation in form of "vision board"