12-yr-old adopts superhero persona for a green cause, says kids can make a change
CHENNAI: Donning a cape and a costume, 12-year-old Shashank Arun stands before a camera and talks about how youngsters his age can contribute towards environmental protection, from planting trees in their neighbourhood to speaking to parents on household wastage. According to Shashank, children are the strongest force in initiating change, and his start-up, Captain Environment, hopes to tap into this base.
“Children can start little changes in their homes, by talking to their parents and convincing them to change. We can help our communities by going out with our friends to do good in the world. As the future generation to take charge of the world, we will be able to change the bigger picture too, ” said the student of PSBB T Nagar.
Having founded the start-up in 2018, Shashank decided to make videos on YouTube on the importance of sustainable living and the impact of global warming. One of his videos titled ‘What A Wonderful Tree’ talks about how a tree planted by Shashank’s great-great-grandfather in his native hometown continues to provide fruit to his family to date. Through this video, Shashank educates youngsters his age on how small actions in the present can impact the future.
“I wrote a book titled ‘Captain Environment’s Green Action Takers Activity Book’, which gives children some activities they can do to help the environment, starting from their homes and their communities. It’s only available on Kindle, to reduce paper waste.
“I’m also going to launch an app that has a similar structure to the Blue Whale Challenge, but for a good cause. There will be a reward for doing certain sustainable activities and a leaderboard for all users, ” said Shashank.
In November 2018, his start-up was awarded Rs 50,000 by the Thailand-based KIDx Asia, an initiative that rewards sustainable start-ups run by children. Shashank hopes to have marathons on Chennai beaches based on plogging to promote keeping their neighbourhood clean.