AYUDH Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (TN & PY) organised a student-led bee conservation initiative across 17 Amrita Vidyalayam schools in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on World Environment Day, aligning the programme with the global campaign message, “Now for Climate.”

As part of the initiative, students planted native bee-friendly plant species within their school campuses. The event was featured on the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) World Environment Day events and activities page, a press release states.

Among those who participated in programmes held at different schools were KJ Praveen Kumar, IAS, District Collector of Nagapattinam Dr P Mekala, Assistant Director of Horticulture, Erode Dr Reshmi N Nair, Assistant Medical Officer, Government Ayurveda Medical College and Hospital, Nagercoil and Dr V Arumugam, Assistant Director, Horticulture Department, Kanyakumari.

According to the organisers, the plantation drive was intended to support local pollinator populations while also creating learning spaces for students to study biodiversity and environmental sustainability.

The saplings planted included fruit-bearing species such as neem, banana, pungam, tamarind, moringa, native ziziphus berries, mango and jamun. Flowering species such as golden shower, magizham, iluppai, red cotton tree, kadambu, poovarasu and Indian devil tree were also planted, along with year-round blooming varieties including firecracker plant, erukkan, acerola and yellow alari.

The organisers said these species help support honeybees, native stingless bees, butterflies and birds, while contributing to soil health and drought resilience.

AYUDH is a youth movement inspired by spiritual leader Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi and is active in 40 countries.

The World Environment Day programme follows a series of bee conservation activities conducted by AYUDH TN & PY. On World Bee Day, observed on May 20, the organisation conducted a webinar titled “Bee-Cause” based on the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) theme, “Bee Together for People and the Planet – A Partnership that Sustains Us All.”

The webinar featured Dr VR Saminathan, entomologist at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, and Apoorva BV, founder of Honey Day Bee Farms and chairman of The Hive Trust. According to the organisers, participants joined the session from 32 cities across India.

AYUDH TN & PY has also conducted awareness workshops and initiated beekeeping projects at Amrita Vidyalayam schools in Tamil Nadu and at campuses of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Chennai and Nagercoil.

“We are proud to see our youth embracing environmental stewardship not as a temporary campaign, but as a long-term civic duty,” said Brahmacharini Gunatitamrita Chaitanya and Brahmacharini Swati, Regional Coordinators of AYUDH TN & PY.

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