User:PRASEN2013

GREEN TEACHER AWARD He lives in tiger country. He nurtures young minds. He is the Headmaster of the Bijoynagar Adarsha Vidyamandir (BAV) located on an island called Bali, in the Sundarbans, in West Bengal. Distressed by the deteriorating relationship between people and the tigers of the Sundarbans, he started the Bali Wildlife Conservation Society way back in 1999 and has since been working variously with officials of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, the Wildlife Protection Society of India, WWF India and others to secure the future of wildlife. But, his real passion lies in working with children. A lot of children. In 2002, he started a nature club on Bali island with just seven kids. This grew to 26 nature clubs, with over 2,500 children studying in 20 schools. As many as 50 teachers work with Paira. What is more, he has even reached out to families of poachers to convince them to protect the tiger. Educator, writer, poet, social activist, environmentalist, women’s rights advocate – and tiger defender, Sukumar Paira is a man with a mission. He wants to make this world a better place. He has spent a greater part of his life teaching and inspiring students to explore and fall in love with nature. A graduate in English literature and postgraduate in Bengali, he joined the BAV school in 1977 and has since transformed it into the only higher secondary school on Bali island. He believes that the well being of the people of Bali depends on how well they look after their ecological assets.