The Union Territory of Puducherry made a mark at the recently concluded National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC) held in Bengalaru from December 27 to 31, with two student scientists walking away with top honours.

The project, ‘A study on the effect of weather in plant growth in barren soil using different soil amendments’ represented by team leader Amritha Monica V of St. Joseph of Cluny Girls Higher Secondary School in Puducherry was selected among the 20 Best Outstanding Projects at the National level. Her teammates were Madhumitha Nithyasree, Hemavathy K. and Janani P. with Athira A. as guide teacher.

Ms. Amritha recalled the friendships she struck with fellow child scientists from Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Andhra Pradesh and other States. The organic manure which was examined in the project, ‘Synthetic Terra preta’ is a new kind of manure which only a few companies are currently producing, said Ms. Amritha. The project has provided encouragement to study this manure further, she added.

Aparna Madhusoodanan of the C.E. Bharathan Govt. Higher Secondary School, Mahe, who led her team to win the Best Poster Presentation in the State category has interests as varied as dance, drama and oratory, says her proud father. The project, ‘Impact of season on butterfly abundance and species diversity in five localities in Mahe region’ evolved out of an earlier school project, said Ms. Aparna. She credits success to her guide teacher Minija Janardhanan, team members and the school.

The NCSC is organised annually under the Ministry of Science and Technology. This year’s event had the focal theme: Understanding Weather and Climate, with 6 sub-themes.The NCSC saw the participation of around 650 child scientists from across India, including delegations from United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh, said a release from the Pondicherry Science Forum. Six team leaders from the UT had attended the NCSC in Bengaluru after winning in district and State level competitions held in the last few months.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/puducherry/two-girls-win-top-honours-at-childrens-science-congress/article6753371.ece

Puducherry students bag awards at science congress

PUDUCHERRY: A paper on transforming barren lands into cultivable lands using organic manure and a poster on seasonal impact on butterfly abundance and its species diversity done by a few students from the Union territory of Puducherry were adjudicated as the best entries at the national-level and state-level respectively at the 22nd national children’s science congress held at Bangalore.

V Amrita Monica of St Joseph’s Girls’ HSS presented the paper at the congress. The paper was declared as one of the 20 best entries at the congress, claiming national honours. The other team members include Madhumitha Nithyasree and Hemavathy K from the same school. Botany teacher A Athira guided the students. Aparna Madhusoodanan of C E Bharathan Government HSS, Mahe presented the poster, which was declared as one of the best 40 entries that bagged state-level honours. The other team members include T C Achanya, U P Arundhathi, R Vaishnav Kumar and R Rohan Rajeev from the same school. Minija Janardhanan guided the students.

Monica and her team outlined how barren land could be transformed into cultivable lands using vermicompost, coir pith compost and compost prepared using urban food waste and farmyard manure (FYM) and synthetic terrapreta (STP), a bio-manure prepared by them. The team members who raised brinjal on a barren land using organic manure successfully between September and November last year shared their success story at the congress.

“Organic manures like STP, vermicompost and FYM recharge nutrients in plenty and improve soil texture helping plants to withstand changing weather conditions,” the students said. Aparna and her team explained how variations in climatic conditions affected butterfly population and species diversity.

The team conducted field study for nine weeks between August and October last year in different localities in Mahe, Puducherry’s enclave in Kerala, and reported 65 different species of butterflies.

They listed out the commonly observed species and the frequency of their occurrence. The directorate of school education and Pondicherry Science Forum that received about 250 projects from students in the Union territory of Puducherry selected six projects and sent to the national science congress under the theme ‘Understanding Weather and Climate’.

More than 650 students from different states and Union territories in India, besides student delegations from United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh participated in the event.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/Puducherry-students-bag-awards-at-science-congress/articleshow/45738169.cms