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Phone: 22678480 / 22634326

Website: burhanifoundationindia.org

Email: bfi52@yahoo.co.in

bfi5253@gmail.com

Youtube: Burhani Foundation India Channel

Facebook: Burhani-Foundation-India

Twitter: BFI_environment

Instagram: burhani.foundation

Recharge your wells and

bore wells

Rooftop rainwater is led through pipes with a filter at the end to open dug wells for replenishing under-ground aquifers. A recharge pit for bore wells is also a good idea as it pushes back the surface water into the groundwater system. Usually, a recharge pit is one metre in diameter and six metres deep, lined with concrete rings having perforations. These perforations let filtered and de-silted water seep from the sides increasing the groundwater table.

Build a Rain Saucer If you are looking for a fast DIY way to collect rain-water without much hassle, rain saucers form a great free standing rain collection system which fill up surprisingly fast. Looking like an upside-down umbrella, the rain saucer unfolds to form a funnel which fills the containers with rainwater. Since this easy-to-deploy system catches rain straight from the sky, it also decreases the chances of contamination.

A Reservoir for Rain Rainwater that falls on the rooftop, can be made to run through a pipe to a storage facility like a sump or a tank. This water can be filtered to purify the larger particles before being stored in rainwater harvest tanks. By using stored rainwater for washing cars and watering gardens, the use of underground water can be minimized. A win-win system for economy and environment, this also helps in saving energy.

BURHANI FOUNDATION (INDIA) Amatullah Manzil, 65 Bazargate Street, Fort, Mumbai-1.

Edited content from

The Better India and Happho

Good Energy Website

Wikihow and the Spruce

VOLUME 111 | ISSUE 117 | JUNE 2019

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Environment Wellness & Lifestyle Monthly Newsletter Established by H.H. Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (RA)

in 1992

Invest in eco-friendly

technology

Energy conservation is one of the most important things to reduce your carbon foot-print. Leaving electricals on standby, needlessly uses up energy. Hit the off switch and save whatever energy you can.

Make sure that the tech you have got is as energy-efficient as possi-ble. This way, you’re using much less energy for the time that the product is on, saving money and reducing your energy output too.

Don’t waste food

Did you know that 40% of the food produced in India is wasted? This isn’t just a huge waste of food and money, it adds to the amount of CO2 being created in landfills.

The term sustainable homes is thrown about quite a bit these days, but there’s more to it than just segregating your waste and calling it a day. The carbon footprint of a home can be minimized through practices like :

1. Reduced energy consumption 2. Water conservation 3. Waste recycling

For many of us the transition to choosing safer products and less consumptive habits can feel like it comes at the cost of great sacrifice. If you’re just starting out and want some sustainable living ideas then here are a few of them :-

Turn if off when

not in use

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Think about the clothes you buy

Drive Less

Driving, unless you’re in an electric vehicle, isn’t very eco-friendly and can really add to your carbon footprint. Less air pollution and a healthier heart are pretty great effects from a simple decision to skip the car for a short trip.

Say NO to plastic

Buy only when necessary. Discard-ing clothes used very rarely is a huge waste of resources.

Look for cotton, linen, hemp, organic silk, organic wool or semi-synthetic viscose.

Avoid polyester, acrylic fabrics and synthetic fabrics. Every time you wash these fabrics you release micro and nano-plastics into the oceans.

Plastic in the oceans are a serious and overwhelming environmental issue today.

Plastic seems to have found its way into every single aspect of our lives. However, giving it up isn’t as difficult as you might think – bring a canvas bag with you when you go shopping. Stop buying bottled water and using disposable utensils.

More such ideas to follow in our upcoming

newsletters.

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♦ Rain water harvesting reduces the dependency on ground water, hence potable water is available even during droughts or floods and is particularly useful where the groundwater is contaminated with chemicals like pesticides, fluoride, etc.

♦ These systems are easy to construct, easy to maintain and easy to operate

♦ The investment is not too much

♦ Soil erosion is reduced and groundwater is conserved

♦ In roof top rainwater harvesting, the roof becomes the catchment area, and the rainwater is collected from the roof of the house/building. Thus no land is wasted for storage purpose and no population displacement is involved.

So this monsoon, instead of just playing the waiting game and anxiously watching the horizon, here’s how you can gather those precious drops by making your own rainwater harvesting system at home. There are many ways to harvest the rain-water. Below are a few of the techniques –

Install a Rain Barrel The easiest way to harvest rain is through a rain barrel. Make your own from a large trash can or an old drum linked to a pipe which is fitted to collect rainwater from the rooftop or verandah of the house. To prevent the barrel from becoming a mosquito breeding ground, fasten a tight-fitting top to it and screen the ends of the downspouts leading into the barrels. Or simply add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the stored rainwater. It coats the water’s surface and kills larvae by depriving them of oxygen.

Create a Rain Garden

It is also easy to create, looks good all year-round and has a positive impact on the environment.

A rain garden is a sunken landscape that uses native plants, local soil and mulch to remove pollutants from water and allows it to percolate into the ground.