Why haven’t we heard of the ECC in Woodstock before? The Environmental Conservation Committee, otherwise known as the ECC, was established in the first semester of school in 2021. It was initiated by Kalsang Yangchen and Luke D’Souza who are the soon-to-be-graduating class of 2022. Their aim was to encourage the community of Woodstock to incorporate certain habits, objectives, and projects into their daily lives to enrich the environment on the campus. They wanted to make it more sustainable, and limit the impact of climate change on the environment.
Kalsang elucidates that the populace of Woodstock has failed to abide by the institution’s goal to ‘Tread Lightly on Earth.’ In correlation to that concern, the ECC is dedicated to address and tackle such issues. They expect that the results of such an approach will contribute to creating Woodstock into a more environmentally friendly establishment. It will also bring about a thriving and brighter future for the future generations at Woodstock and the local community in Mussoorie.
There is no proper representation in the Student Committee (StuCo) of Woodstock to convey and elaborate their prospects and plans. So, the ECC heads, Luke and Kalsang, proposed to have an environmental delegate on the StuCo team between April and May of 2021. They explained that a spokesperson for their goal to ‘Tread Lightly’ was of paramount importance as there should be a specific member who advocates solely for methods of living sustainably. However, their proposal was denied through voting from the StuCo team.
Currently, there are 3 heads and 3 members in the ECC . Reya Vani Gupta, class of 2022, joined as a head in the Summer of 2021 to help strengthen the association and step closer to their ambition. Aman Singh, class of 2022, along with Adhiraj Kapoor, class of 2023, and Raghav Gadhvi, class of 2026 became part of the ECC in May, 2021. With the lack of a proxy, it is not a surprise that the majority of the school does not know about this hidden committee.
The committee is in hopes of succeeding as they will attempt to resubmit their stance again next semester. It is quite a feat to establish and their efforts are commendable. We as students can help build their team or wish for their success in having a proper delegate because if anything needs attention, it is the climate, environment, and the people who are occupying and will be occupying Woodstock and Mussoorie. Hence, the student council of Woodstock needs to accentuate itself as representatives and allow ECC their rightful place in order to achieve the objectives.
Bishalakshmi Bagchi is a section editor.
Edited by Ira Ahuja.
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