The Greener Planet
6 – 8
July 2023
STEM
21 Days
About Project
Aarav, Razia, and Neelam live in different parts of the world. But they have all grown up experiencing changes caused by climate change in their communities. The planet’s climate is changing because of global warming caused by carbon pollution. Aarav grew up in Delhi and has been concerned about the increasing temperature and the unbearable heat winds of the North Indian summer. On his bus ride back from his school, he observes many roadside vendors and rickshaw pullers sweating profusely while earning their daily wages. He wonders whether something like tree planting can be done in cities to reduce the intensity of heat. He has been working with his friends to talk to local government officials and ensure no trees are cut down for buildings. Razia grew up near the sea in Sri Lanka and has seen the slow decline of mangroves along the coast. The storms and floods of her childhood were manageable due to the thick mangrove vegetation, but the thinning of the mangroves due to port building has led to greater flooding and destruction. She leads a group of volunteers from her school to create community awareness around the importance of mangroves and organises mangrove planting days. Neelam grew up in a small Himalayan village. She is often scared to ride in a car to her grandmother’s house because she has seen cracks in the ground and huge landslides blocking roads. Recently, she teamed up with her environmental science teacher to understand the causes behind landslides and has been working on creating a community warning system such as ringing of the local temple bell to alert all the villagers before an impending landslide. Stories such as these are common for any young adult adapting to the effects of climate change in their own communities, be it cities, coasts, or mountains. Through this challenge, we invite you to create a solution for your own community to help it adapt to climate change.
Expert Profile
Siddhartha Krishnan is a professor at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), India. His research focuses on environmental history, forest governance, and the socio-ecological dimensions of conservation.
His work examines human-nature interactions, especially in the context of pastoral communities and land-use change in India. He has contributed to policy discussions on sustainable development and biodiversity conservation.
Siddhartha Krishnan has published extensively in academic journals and collaborates with global institutions on ecological research. He holds a PhD in environmental sociology.