Children can make a difference when they band together to make their voices heard, students from across the Island were told yesterday as they began a three-day environmental conference at Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.

Five pioneering young environmentalists from India kicked off the conference by sharing their movement's formation and successes in India.

The students are members of the Panchavati Green Movement - a kid-driven environmental group formed in 1996.

The Panchavati Green Movement launched a signature drive that attracted half a million schoolchildren in the Indian capital of Delhi to the group in 1997.

Since that time they have fought battles to eliminate the use of plastic bags (or ‘poly' bags) through their ‘Quit India Pollution' campaign.

The works of the group have been endorsed by Indian Prime Ministers, the three military Chiefs of Staff, other key Government Ministers and the United Nations.

The group has also represented India at international environmental conferences in Korea, Nairobi and England.

Five Eco-Ambassadors from Panchavati spend 26 hours travelling to Bermuda this week to participate in the conference - Nimish Goswami (13), Yashi Mehta (12), Kripi Sharna (13), Sarthak Prakash (13) and Manas Agrawal (13).

They delivered a presentation complete with video footage of their campaigns within India which highlighted environmental challenges in the nation of more than one billion people.

“There are a lot of slums and our wonders are being polluted by industry,” the visitors told Bermuda's students.

“There is a lot of overpopulation. Our forests are being cut down. We also have poaching and war at the frontiers of India.”

But the Panchavati kids also have a belief and a commitment that they can make a difference.

In addition to fighting for the elimination of the use of plastic bags, they have projects such as ‘Treasure Room' which promotes mass literacy in the country and another which pushed universal health rights.

In 2001, following Panchavati campaigning and rallies targeting markets, India's Legislative Assembly put in place a law against the use of plastic bags, they said.

While tiny Bermuda may have different problems than India “the fight is the same” the Eco-Ambassadors told The Royal Gazette.

They are currently involved in a campaign in India to eliminate the use of ‘crackers' - or firecrackers - during the country's annual Diwali festival.

Panchavati's ambassadors told The Royal Gazette this campaign is important to the group on two front.

“The industry is based around child labour,” they said - jumping into each other's sentences and tackling questions by teamwork. “There are children working in an explosives industry.”

The Panchavati representatives said breaking India's use of the cracker for fun during the festival will be a challenge as people love that aspect of it.

“(But) it hurts the children making them and the children using them, both get hurt,” they said.

In Bermuda the Panchavati group hopes to lead by example and inspire Bermuda's student to unite for the environment.

“They want to create a united child network,” said the group's mentor Marina Batra. “If the children start speaking up and asking grown-ups about things, the grown-ups must eventually listen.”

The youth eco-conference continues today and tomorrow at BUEI with workshops and field trips.

At the close, the groups will present action plans for protecting Bermuda's environment.