KOCHI: The first edition of Envirothon, being hosted by Sacred Heart College, is just three days away. The best takeaway for the runners lining up at the Lakeview ground of the college at 5am on Sunday would be the green medal they will be handed over. Made with clay, the medals will be the first-of-its-kind gesture to celebrate eco-conservation. Titled ‘Muthoot FinCorp SH Lake View Envirothon’, the event holds the larger responsibility of bolstering the commitment of students towards protecting nature and its resources and promoting a healthy lifestyle.
The unique medals took shape at organic man Ambrose Kooliyath’s farm and craft centre at Shoranur, around 120km away from Kochi city. Ambrose, who lives an unconventional life connected to nature, didn’t feel challenged when Fr Joseph Kusumalayam, the NSS programme officer of the college, shared the thought of making green medals for the event with him.
Fr Joseph, who is a marathoner himself, wanted to gift a memento that matched with the purpose of the run that aims to build awareness on protecting the water resources of Kochi. “We told him the medals should be made of purely biodegradable materials and placed orders for 1,050 clay medals. At the same time, we wanted to promote people who sincerely undertake organic and eco-friendly initiatives,” said the assistant professor of English.
Instead of the plastic ribbons used in most medals, nature lover Dr Meera Abraham in Ambrose’s team came up with the idea of crocheted jute yarn that would be fastened to a small copper wire fixed to the baked clay discs.
For the past one-and-a-half week Ambrose’s 19-year-old younger son Akhil was busy grinding the clay into a fine paste and baking them, while his older son Amal fixed the design and fonts to be engraved in the mould or seal. Three different moulds were preset for three categories of runners.
“We first set a clay slab of the required thickness, and once the moisture receded we slowly hand-push the medal cast on the slabs. The clay discs are then spread out to dry up at room temperature for three days. Before baking them, a small curved copper wire is fixed on each disc to fasten the jute thread.
The baking takes two days – first-day clay discs will be placed in the kiln and smoked to eliminate the moisture and the next day these discs are put to direct fire. On the third day, they are taken out of the furnace.
With no trace of fatigue in their faces, the team of six youngsters, including Kavya, Kannan, Akhil, Amal and Salahuddeen, led by Meera are in the job of fastening the jute yarn onto the copper hooks. “Frankly speaking, I have zero roles in the medals.
These are the efforts of these youngsters led by Meera – right from planning the design to cutting the moulds to crocheting the jute thread,” smiles Ambrose, who has never sent his sons to school – a challenge to the ethos of the 21st century.
Ambrose has been an invitee at the college’s NSS camps where he explains to the students about his school of thought and nature-friendly activities so that his mission is passed on to the next generation.
Mega Run in 3 Categories
The mega run is being held in three categories - a half marathon 21 km will start at 5am, a 10-kilometre long run will start at 6am and 5 km-long Fun Run for families will start 7am.
Commitment to Nature
Every Sunday the college students lead by example undertaking cleaning programmes on Fort Kochi beach and Chellanam coasts, apart from clearing the plastic garbage dumped on roadsides and making the city plastic-free zones to reinforce the nation’s campaign of ‘Swachh Bharat’.