Class 8 student from TN wins in international competition

Recently, her video project ‘Healing the Earth’ won the second prize in the Sustainable Stories Photo & Video Competition organised by the United Nations University. What makes Shriya’s achievement unique is that she was the youngest participant and was shortlisted out of 400 submissions from 40 countries. “I have seen how tribal communities live close to nature and take care of the forest. They respect mother Earth and worship the sacred forest. Once I visited the Mawphlang Sacred Forest of Meghalaya. People living in the forest won’t allow anyone to take anything out of the forest. Visiting the Mawphlang Sacred Forest changed my mindset about nature. I decided to learn about sustainability and inspire others around me. I started reading articles to have a better idea of the concept,” says Shriya, daughter of Santosh Misra, Commissioner of Transport and State Transport Authority. Her work Healing the Earth will also be displayed in the physical exhibition in Dresden, Germany, on July 24. 

A Class 8 student of Chinmaya International Residential School, Coimbatore, Shriya raises an important question. “Why do we have to travel far to enjoy nature and not just walk a few miles to see nature? People should realise it is high time we started caring about our nature. With the help of my mother, I have set up a kitchen garden at my home,” she adds.