Surat is one of the cleanest cities in India and to maintain the same, and do my bit for the environment and the city, I, along with my friends cleaned areas around Surat such as beaches, riversides, pathways, etc. We went either on Saturday or Sunday mornings for a month to commit to the same.
Learning outcomes in focus:
LO-2
I have never cleaned public places before and it was a challenge as I wasn’t used to the filth and garbage, as I have always experienced a clean environment. We took gloves and garbage bags to collect the garbage lying around. I am glad that I took this challenge as I experienced how difficult it is for the garbage collectors to do this every day and still not get recognized for their efforts. I also learnt how to properly hold a broom and sweep with the old-fashioned brooms which made the whole process filled with fun and learning.
LO-3
This activity required me to wake up early in order to obtain the least crowd while cleaning the areas around the city. I am a person who loves my sleep, therefore, in order to wake up on time, I set alarms to not miss out on clean-up drives. We as individuals took the initiative to go ahead with this activity, which involved planning as we didn’t know what could be the challenges. For the very first time, we took our resources and went ahead to Dumas beach for cleaning it up. However, it wasn’t feasible as we had to drive such long distances. Therefore, after that, we joined Project Surat which used to organize clean-up drives called Safai Sunday every week. This cut down on our resources and also helped us to manage the time accordingly.
LO-4
Although it was difficult to wake up early every weekend, the only time when a student gets to sleep in, we committed to the process and did not give up. Through motivations from fellow peers and seeing the dedication of Project Surat, we followed the process for a month.
LO-6
Through this activity, we are helping achieve the tiniest part of the SDGs. Some of them are Life on Land, Life below Water, Sustainable cities and communities. All of these issues are severe, and although Surat is ranked one of the cleanest cities of India, it is better to take regular actions to maintain the same. As we keep our homes clean, the same goes for the city we reside in.
LO-7
While collecting the garbage, we made sure to segregate the biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. This is necessary as it helps the effective treatment and disposal of these wastes. At first, we just collected it randomly, but halfway through we realized that it would be better for the environment to separate the waste. Therefore, we segregated the same and followed the same process for the upcoming clean-up drives as well.

Evidence: