Mary Calista Iruthayarajan

'Enviro Warrior' par excellence

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October 2001


“To be environmentally friendly, use the hand drier instead of paper tissues.” This was posted above the paper tissue dispenser by the washbasins in a Hong Kong airport restroom. Obviously China accords greater priority to saving forests than to energy conservation. Just out of curiosity, I hung around filing my nails so I could observe if anyone paid heed. At least a dozen ladies must have streamed in and out of the washroom. None paid the slightest attention to the writing on the wall. They just groomed, snatched chunks of tissues, used and tossed them into the bin. So much for being friends of the environment! And this was an international crowd.

Actually members of the public are not entirely to blame. People need to know why they are being asked to take particular action so they can comprehend it. Compliance is then willing. Merely putting up a notice doesn’t guarantee that. They also need to be informed about the results of their endeavour; like how much they have contributed to a recycling programme. If one notices the cleaning staff clear up the contents of recycling bins and mixing these up with general garbage (we saw this happen at the same airport; and out of some pretty colourful recycling bins too!), doesn’t that make a mockery of conservation? And who would, then, bother with sorting rubbish?


Mary is overwhelmed that we make a trip from Dubai to Abu Dhabi just so we may talk with her. She believes she is too simple a person to be written about in the columns of Earthsense. Well, Mary Calista Iruthayarajan is mistaken; because this Lower Kindergarten (LKG) teacher of Our Own English High School, Abu Dhabi, represents some values and talents that interest us.


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Blend art and conservation and you define Mary. She creates beautiful objects from scrap. Snip, sculpt, twirl and fix, and the most ordinary (used) plastic bottles metamorphose into delicate, translucent flowers in various hues. She conducts craft classes without using any materials that need to be purchased. And gets even the walls to talk environmental protection and ‘3 Rs’ (reduce, reuse, recycle) by plastering them with those useless objects you never imagined could look so good.

Diminutive, slender (“Mary doesn’t eat,” jests her husband, Philip), she flits about serving us goodies as we attempt to get her to perch somewhere and talk about herself and her creations, some of which are clearly visible. A table in Mary’s cosy living room is spilling over with blossoms in brilliant colours. Pink, yellow and white roses of Styrofoam (made out of egg cartons), peach and cream coloured floral bouquets (newspapers), lucent lilies in clear pots (mineral water bottles), cushions embellished with vibrant rosettes (cloth fragments from a tailor’s shop) and wall hangings with pressed petals and ivory protuberances (dried flowers and egg shell pieces) – an assortment of ‘throwaways’ have been painstakingly collected and attractively presented.


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Mary doesn’t waste anything. “When I see something that I may have to dispose of after I’m done with it, my mind begins to work on how it can be best utilized. At the school summer camp, for which Mary held art lessons, a parent remarked, ‘you are the garbage collector. Now I don’t need to throw out anything,’” she laughs. And because Mary loves flowers, having left behind a beautiful garden back home in Sri Lanka, she spontaneously creates floral craft. At home, Philip panders to her creative instincts by bringing in materials from here and there - at times, waste packaging from his office, fabric snippets from a tailor, or even dried dates shed from trees in the park. “But I have to check her to some extent because of lack of storage space,” he remarks with a twinkle in his eye.

Art and craft exercises during the school summer camp, the theme for which was ‘world wide web of life,’ were particularly enjoyable for Mary as these became highly interactive with families

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also pitching in with ideas and gathering disposables for use.“I was carrying things from my home. Children brought items from their homes and the seniors even started a collection in school. Not only did parents give their suggestions, they even made things and sent these to the camp with their kids,” she beams.

Was Mary’s interest cultivated over time? Not really. Even when she was growing up in Colombo, Mary had an instinctive creative urge to make beautiful objects d’ art out of rubbish. “I would pick up the most mundane things like cardboard, paper, dried leaves and other such stuff, and my brain would start ticking – how can I change these beyond recognition? Convert them into desirable artifacts? And I had an ambition to perfect things. Take up something and do it the best.”


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And as far as other environmental matters are concerned, it seems, Philip compensates where Mary falls short. “He is always checking me about water and electricity usage,” she points out. Food too. “If we collect all the food that is thrown away millions of the poor and starving, as in Africa, can be fed. Everyone should think about this. Water is another valuable resource. We should realize that we are blessed with a 24-hour water supply even in this dry climate. There should be no wastage,” Philip proclaims. Very sensible, indeed. It is evident that they make an ecologically conscious couple.

Mary is now turning trainer. She shares her expertise with others in her profession, demonstrating to TADPOLES (Teachers of Abu Dhabi for Protection of the Living Environment) how to make the ‘Best of Waste.’ That’s a workshop held in the Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency, Abu Dhabi, in September.

A People’s Plan for Protecting India’s Biological Diversity

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity calls on countries that sign it to develop strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Towards this end, a unique planning exercise is underway in India. A National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), a project of the Ministry of Environment, is being technically executed by a Delhi-based non-governmental organization (NGO), Kalpavriksh, which has set up a core group of experts and activists from various parts of the country.

The NBSAP may be India’s biggest environment and development planning process that, in a radical departure from established norm, stems from several decentralized sources – village to district levels, state level, ecological region level and national level. In what is possibly the most participatory exercise ever, diverse citizens groups will have a say in formulating what promises to be a people’s plan. Involved are segments of society from farmers, fisher folk and tribals to scientists, academics and officials; from NGOs and artists to armed forces personnel and corporate executives.

A series of public hearings, workshops, festivals and exhibitions, rallies, advertisements, media write-ups and other such methods are being used to elicit maximum public input. A ‘Call for Participation’ is being widely distributed. Key elements of each plan (there will be 75 action plans in all) will ultimately be integrated into the national plan. The plans will outline actions for conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of bio-resources, and equity in using and these resources.

The entire process is to be completed by the middle of next year and, what is really important is, that the plan will reflect the voices of millions, including the ‘ecosystem people.’

WHAT ON EARTH CAN WE DO?

Rethink our purchase. Do I really need it? How long will it last? Can it be recycled? Can I borrow or rent it?

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