Dr MS Swaminathan Research Foundation's (MSSRF) Botanical garden campus in Wayanad, Kerala was registered with the Smart Campus Cloud Network(SCCN) this month to support the best practices in biodiversity conservation on campus. Dr Anil Kumar, Senior Director of MSSRF hailed SCCN as an initiative much in need for mainstreaming the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. Dr Rajendra shende demonstrated the success of the Smart Campus initiative and urged Dr Kumar to partake in this effort to create a consciousness around biodiversity loss and climate change. To imbibe a culture of understanding our impact on the environment, carbon footprints on campus should be calculated and a differential approach should be followed for rural and urban campuses, suggested Dr Anil Kumar. SCCN members were delighted to hear the proactive approaches of MSSRF in climate neutrality and found it to be a wonderful addition under its own ''Climate Neutral Campuses' project. The Meenangadi Village in Wayanad District of Kerala was adopted by MSSRF to make it the first climate neutral village in India. Mr Ashok Methil, SCCN advisor suggested that the project in Kerala demonstrated not only the effectiveness of communicating the message of Climate Change down to the grassroot level but also creating actionable steps to witness meaningful change.
To create equitable solutions for students in rural areas, it is essential that the Smart Campus initiative includes several other functions compared to the Urban Areas, suggested the MSSRF Director. Biodiversity conservation which enables culinary diversity available to students should also be a priority in rural areas where protein rich nutrition is less accessible. The MS Swaminathan Botanical Garden is guardian to a set of Rare, Endangered and Threatened tree species which are looked after by the community of local populations who have depended on the produce of these plants and trees culturally, thus preserving species diversity, cultural and culinary diversity. The Smart Campus Cloud Network is pleased to share this partnership of knowledge growth with its proactive members.