Yuksam school’s Passang Phurba impresses all at National Conference on Biodiversity

PASSANG’S ‘PROJECT CONNECT’ CONCEPT WAS THE ONLY SCHOOL STUDENT PRESENTATION SELECTED FOR PRESTIGIOUS EVENT
GANGTOK, 19 Feb: Passang Phurba Bhutia of Govt. Sec. School, Yuksam, presented her poster ‘Project CONNECT’ at the prestigious ‘National Conference on Biodiversity Assessment, Conservation and Utilization’ hosted by the Biodiversity Department of MES Abasaheb Garware College (Pune) in collaboration with BAIF Development Research Foundation (Pune) and IISER (Pune). The conference, held from 09 to 11 February, was inaugurated by Padmabibhusan Dr. Kasturirangan (ISRO Scientist and Member of Planning Commission of India) and also attended by noted space scientist Padmabhusan Dr. Vasant Gowariker and environmentalist Padmabhusan Prof. Madhav Gadgil.
Ms. Bhutia was not only the youngest but also the only school-level participant at the prestigious event and with her passion for conservation, became the the center of attraction of the conference. The Headmaster of her school, Sanjoy Acharyya, informs that Passang’s participation was made possible by the sponsorship received from the DC West, SK Pradhan.
Passang’s poster presentation on “CONservation of Natural Environment through Culture and Tradition” (CONNECT) was well-received by various environmental scholars like Prof. Gadgil, Dr. Ankur Patwardhan, Dr. Satish Padhye and others. Notable NGO activists like BAIF Development Research Foundation President Girish Sohani and Secretary Dr. Rajarshee Joshi, and Ela Foundation President Dr. Satish Pande enjoyed her presentation, the Headmaster informs.
She was warmly received by faculty and students of the host college. Even though the competition was meant for Research Scholars, Passang was specially awarded with an ‘Encouragement Citation’ and a Cash Prize of Rs. 1,000.  She has also received an invitation to present her poster at the forthcoming National Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development to be held under the banner of Central University of Gujrat at Gandhinagar during 15th-16th March.
Even though another abstract from the same school was also selected for presentation at the conference, the student participant opted out at the last moment for health reasons, the Headmaster informs.
Eventually, Passang, apart from being the only participant from Sikkim and the only other participant from North-East, was also like a Goodwill Ambassador to the event, he highlights. The exposure was of immense importance for the student as well as the School. She brought along with her personal gifts as well as souvenirs to the School from Forest Department (Govt. of Maharashthra), Ela Foundation, PES Modern High School and her many well-wishers at Pune and proposals from many voluntary and research organizations towards various collaborative exercises with the School.
The SMDC of the School congratulated Passang on her success and has also thanked the DC-West who sponsored the exposure.