Chennai: Shyam Sundar (14) and Sandeep (10), brothers, living in 20th Street at Tansi Nagar, Velacheri don’t know Greta Thunberg, a young world-renowned environmental activist, in person.
But the duo are practising and spreading the word on saving the planet, one tiny step at a time. At a time when social media ‘challenges’ are a great hit, they have come up with one for a ‘sustainable future.’
They have put together a ‘Sustainability Challenge’, and are changing their ways of living to create a better future. The challenge is a set of tasks to save water, electricity and to avoid using plastic.
Sandeep says, ”I learnt in school that we are running out of natural resources. I felt sad that the trees are being cut down and there is water scarcity. I asked my mother Lakshmipriya what we can do to stop it.”
The boys were then taught by Lakshmipriya on small things like not letting the water tap run while brushing their teeth and switching off lights and fans when leaving a room. This inspired Sandeep to make a 30-day Sustainability challenge.
There is one task each per day and if the person had done it, they can tick the box.
Some of the challenges are, ‘I will not waste food on my plate’, ‘I will reduce my internet usage by one hour today’, ‘I will have one millet based meal a day’ and ‘I will start segregating my waste.’
Shyam says, ”We have been following this for sixty days.” It took a lot of time and observation to compile the tasks and make it as a 30-day challenge.
Sandeep says he was helped by his school principal and parents. He also attended a lecture by an environmental activist.
It was not easy for the boys, especially when they have to follow tasks such as walking a kilometer, taking public transport and having a millet based meal.
However, they say it has has been a learning curve for them. ”We were sad when we found that the use of internet was harmful for the birds. 4G and 5G affect their lives. We have restricted our internet time a lot,” Sandeep says.
”We want more people to take up the 30-day challenge’,’ says Sandeep.
As for Tansi Nagar, Shyam says, ”the roads should be cleared of waste and the trees should not be cut.”
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