The La Martiniere Girls' College in Lucknow established the PALS Nature Club in 1996. PALS aims to promote environmental protection and recycling. They identified polythene as a major threat, especially to animals in the Lucknow Zoo who were dying after ingesting plastic. To address this, PALS began making paper bags from recycled newspaper and calendars to replace polythene bags for snacks sold at the zoo, in order to protect the animals. The zoo officials accepted their help and the paper bags are now used by all vendors on zoo premises.

1. Fighting the POLYTHENE
MENACE with recycled paper bags
Submitted by:
La Martiniere Girls’ College
Lucknow

2. La Martiniere Girls’ College Lucknow, established
in the year 1869 through its continued dedication
to pioneering education and maintaining school
traditions, has earned its reputation as one of the
leading educational institutions in India.

3. P.A.L.S .
PROTECTORS OF ANIMAL LIFE AND SURROUNDINGS
‘PALS’ a Nature Club with a difference was setup
by the La Martiniere Girls’ College on 23rd
November 1996.
It is now a part of the school curriculum and is
being managed by the School Children & teachers
Since then PALS has been continuously striving
to
 Inculcate love and respect for the nature in the
members and children .
SAVE NATURE SAVE THE
 Promote recycling of all kinds of wastes
 Spread nature awareness through fun activities, awareness
programmes, debates and excursions.
 Tree planting, gardening, pet care, cleanliness campaigns,
composting etc.
 School Pets and Zoo Adoption
 To fight against
 The polythene menace
 Animal trade and using animals for entertainment
 Waste of natural resources and energy resources
EARTH

4. La Martiniere Girls’ College,
Lucknow has an enormous
school campus with a vast school
field and playgrounds, orchards,
tree canopied drive-ways, school
garden, sprawling lawns & a fully
developed herbal plant garden.

5. Having declared the college “A polythene Free Zone” our
next endeavour was to spread this message
across the city.
Alarming articles about animal deaths in the Lucknow Zoo
due to polythene and plastic bag consumption compelled
us to review the sad events.
Plastic and polythene had always been a big menace
inside zoo. Two zoo inmates, a hippo and a sambar
deer had died after they swallowed plastic. "Hippo's
post-mortem had shown undigested polythene in his
stomach," said an old keeper reminiscing that he had
eaten a plastic ball wrapped inside a polythene bag.
Later, a sambar deer too died the same painful death.
Entering premises with a polythene bag was banned
immediately after the hippo's death.
A lot of shops outside the zoo gates sell snacks in polythene bags and wrappers.
When asked how will such shops be checked from using polythene bags, the director
said, "It is for the same reason that we have sought help from the district
administration."

6. The PALS Club immediately
decided to tackle the polythene
menace by providing paper
packets to the Zoo authorities.
We approached the Zoo Officials
with our proposal and they were
indeed happy to accept our help
in saving the precious zoo
inmates from this hazard.

7. RECYCLING OLD NEWSPAPERS
Every student from class III to XII
makes 8 paper-packets every
month from old newspapers.
The paper packets are given to
the LUCKNOW ZOO to help the
authorities in fighting the
polythene menace and safety of
the animals.

8. As polythene is banned inside
the zoo premises, all eatables
of the visitors are transferred to
these paper bags .
La Martiniere Girls’ College is
the only school in Lucknow
providing paper bags to the
Zoo.

9. RECYCLING OLD SCHOOL CALENDARS
Handy carry bags are made
from sheets of old calendar.
These are also given to the Zoo
for distribution to visitors to
discourage them from carrying
plastic and polythene bags

10. Making a paper bag is simple
STEP 1
Just take a sheet of an old news paper

11. STEP 2: Fold it almost midway

12. STEP 3: Double fold the upper edge

13. STEP 4: Now fold in one side and open the flaps as shown
below

14. STEP 5: Fold in one side, spread fevicol on its surface and fold in
the other side over it. Press gently to stick the two sides.

15. VIOLA...Your paper bag is ready

16. Made by us.....
Guided by the PALS
Executive

17. Our Lucknow Zoo Officials who help us to help them... Thank you
Mr. Anupam Gupta
Director,
Lucknow Zoological Gardens,
Lucknow
Dr. Utkarsh Shukla
Dy. Director/Vet. Officer
Lucknow Zoological Gardens, Lucknow
E-mail address : lucknowzoo@yahoo.com

18. P.A.L.S. LA MARTINIERE GIRLS, COLLEGE LUCKNOW
Principal LMGC, Lucknow : Mrs. Farida Abraham
Teacher In charge : Ms. Rehana Ali
Teacher /Zoo contact : Mrs Archana Gupta
President : Aishna Tandon
Secretary : Riya Marwah
Treasurer : Priyanshee
Executives : Ishali Garg
Saman Shah
Anukansha Gagneja
SAVE NATURE, SAVE THE EARTH