Planting Roots for a Greener Tomorrow: Connecting School Students with Nature, Environment and Sustainable Development

Unofficial AI-generated summary based on the public title and abstract. Not an official translation.

🔬研究者:Environmental education researchers may find the pre-post test design and quantitative results useful for replicating similar interventions.

🏢実務担当者:Schools and education boards can use the findings to justify tree planting programs as part of sustainability curricula.

🏛政策担当者:Policymakers in education and environment ministries can reference this study to promote hands-on environmental learning in national curricula.

In today's rapidly evolving world, urgent environmental challenges such as climate change, deforestation, and pollution necessitate immediate action. A critical approach to addressing these issues is engaging future generations through environmental education, fostering a sense of responsibility toward sustainable development. This study explores the role of tree planting activities in connecting school students to nature, empowering them to understand their environmental impact and contribute to global sustainability efforts. Integrating hands-on learning with environmental education, the study provides students with opportunities to engage directly in tree planting, a crucial activity with significant ecological benefits. Trees, as vital components of ecosystems, mitigate climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide, enhancing air quality, supporting biodiversity, and regulating water cycles. By participating in tree planting, students gain a deeper understanding of the interdependence between human actions and the environment, while recognizing the importance of conserving natural resources and fostering biodiversity. This study was conducted as part of the ICSSR PDF project titled “Handing the Torch of Planet Earth to School and University Students of Uttarakhand,” at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. The project involved students from two schools on the Pantnagar campus namely Sarswati Shishu Mandir and Balniliyam Junior High School, who participated in tree planting activities. The findings indicate that students, through direct involvement in planting and nurturing trees, gained practical knowledge of ecological processes such as carbon sequestration, soil stabilization, and biodiversity support. This hands-on experience enhanced their understanding of sustainability by linking tree planting with ecosystem health and global environmental objectives. Moreover, students developed key values such as teamwork, responsibility, and empathy as they worked collaboratively to plant and care for trees, strengthening their sense of community and collective action. A pre-test and post-test research design was employed to evaluate students’ knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes toward tree plantation and environmental conservation. The plantation drive provided students with hands-on learning experiences through planting saplings, interacting with soil, and learning plant care practices. The findings revealed a substantial improvement in students’ environmental awareness, with the mean percentage score increasing from 34.67 percent in the pre-test to 93.75 percent in the post-test. Students reported feeling closer to nature, gained practical knowledge about the importance of trees, and developed a stronger sense of responsibility toward environmental protection. The study highlights that plantation drives are effective experiential learning tools for enhancing environmental awareness and fostering positive environmental attitudes among school students. Regular plantation activities in schools can play a significant role in promoting sustainable behavior and developing environmentally responsible citizens.

• openalex https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26jun1207first seen 2026-07-17 04:52:23