KATHMANDU: Fifteen "green ambassadors" -- students of various schools in the Valley -- are flying to Bangkok, Thailand on September 4 to attend an environmental training and the 58th anniversary programme of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) there.

The Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation (MoFSC) and National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) with the help of communities adjoining the Valley and two organisations of private schools -- PABSON and N-PABSON - have chosen the students.

They will be flanked by Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Deepak Bohora, among other senior government and NTNC officials.

"We've asked the local communities where a tree plantation campaign was organised on August 21 and the schools contributing to the plantation programme to send 15 school students as the green ambassadors," said Dr Siddhartha Bajracharya of NTNC. The selected school students are going to Bangkok for the five-day programme.

Of them, seven are from the government schools, seven from private ones and remaining one is a national player. Most of them are secondary level students while a proportional balance between the gender has also been maintained in the selection process. Balsundar Secondary School, Swornasikcha Secondary School, Okhreni High School, Gokarna High School, Chalantar High School are some of the lucky whose students have been selected for the important programme.

"We plan to go across the country to select the students next time onwards," said Minister Bohora.

Laxmi Thapa, one of the "ambassadors", a student of Balsundar School, said, it would be a golden opportunity for them to participate in such an international programme and to learn more on the environmental issues. "We ourselves should be blamed as our behaviour is contributing a good deal in the degrading environment. So, individual effort is very much significant to save the environment."

According to officials, they will see the conservation practices in Thailand and will disseminate the information all over the country upon their return. The students will get an opportunity to visit the largest regional community forestry training centre in Bangkok, popular National Park -- Khaoyai National Park, among others.

"This is probably the first time that the minister is leading the school students in such an international seminar," said Juddha Gurung, Member Secretary of NTNC. Total expenses of the students will be covered by the government.

Three school teachers too are flying to Bangkok along with the students.