Building Climate Resilient Gen Z

Climate change is a reality, affecting the planet earth and people. It is affecting even the health of people. Unfortunately, the millennial and the Gen Z will suffer the most as the intensity and frequency of climate change events increases. The good news is that the younger generations are conscious of climate change. They are inquisitive enough to ask the why and how of climate change and are keen to take action.

We at Reckitt are focusing on protecting the biodiversity of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, including building climate resilience in children. We are working closely with the younger generation to understand the issues at hand. We are catering to the inquisitive nature of children through our initiatives. I get quite intrigued when children ask about climate hazards like growth in climate-related viruses and bacteria, and whether diseases like cholera and diahorrea will spread due to climate hazards. To find the answers, we have also engaged with AIIMS Rishikesh.

In fact, it is noteworthy that a recent Nature study has noted that India’s Swachh Bharat Mission has improved quality of life through improvement in water and sanitation, and reduced infant mortality rate in India. Given the scale of the issues at hand and the stakes, it is high time to invest in research in the country on the relationship between climate, health and hygiene.

We ourselves are working on a 3C model, which focuses on campus, curriculum and collaboration, which consists of soft as well as hard components. Keeping in mind, the needs of the children, we have come up with the softer components like climate communication material, wall paintings, calendars and key messages. To make it more immersive, we provide children with eco-friendly notebooks, recycled bags and dust-free chalks.

It helps them embed the green ethos in their thinking and living to deal with climate change and also preserve biodiversity. We have launched an Uttarakhand Biodiversity Discovery Kit, which features games and a journal to widen their connect with nature. It helps children to learn about biodiversity by following a scientific approach in a fun way.

Dictionaries can be boring but not if done in a creative way. We have come up with a climate focused dictionary wherein A is not for apple, like it has been for ages, but A is for avalanche and it is contextualised for Uttarakhand specifically. It is so for A to Z for climate change. It is a location-specific treasure trove of climate education for kids to help them understand what they observe. Our research team picked up the words from Tehri, across Garhwal, Kumaon and different regions of Uttarakhand and, of course, by involving children in the process.

The views of the youth can be much more receptive when they are involved in the process to bring about change. I have engaged a young scholar from Stanford University, Isha Jain, to try to bring in change in thinking and actions through her innovative Kiara Kits, which merge arts and crafts and storytelling to communicate scientific principles through usage of recycled papers, recycled objects, biomimicry, photosynthesis, bird flying mechanisms and pollution in an interactive way. I am happy to say that the government of Uttarakhand has also approved the kits.

Since there is a big gender gap in India in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), we are focusing more on girls through Kiara Kits. The aim is to close the gender gap by educating girls about important aspects of STEM right from a young age, thereby seeding their ambitions. It focuses on girl scientist role models, leading to increased awareness of women in STEM for young children. We also run climate resilient schools in association with Plan International.

To realise the big picture, we have aligned ourselves with the Lifestyle for Environment or Mission LiFE initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We have created Mission LiFE clubs across Uttarakhand and the state government is equally receptive to our shared vision.

Since climate change and biodiversity are two sides of the same coin, we need to address the two together. A climate aware youth generation should be also biodiversity literate. We are working with WWF-India, the Government of Uttarakhand and the Government of India on this important issue.

During our visits to the Uttarakhand region, we heard about rivers lost and saw dried rivers. It triggered us to come up with the idea of Lost River Atlas. Their initiative on free flowing rivers aims to shift the focus from restoration after degradation to conservation before degradation and seeks to map Uttarakhand’s free flowing and wild rivers to take stock of their ecological significance, identify key biodiversity hotspots and study the impact of human activities.

For the species lost, we came up with turtle conservation programme in collaboration with WWF-India. It focusses on laying down a roadmap for restoring wetlands in the upper Ganga basin, conducting training of forest department officials in turtle conservation and launching turtle nurseries.

We are also using digital technology to strengthen water ecosystem, enhance energy efficiency and improve air quality.

We are also bringing together voices from the landscape of Uttarakhand. We have partnered with Oho Radio and are doing a show Oho Hill Yatra hosted by RJ Kavya. The radio programme has enormous reach as it covers all classes and clusters in all districts of Uttarakhand.

Our work on biodiversity does not stop with state boundaries; we focus on eastern Himalayas as well through our Rural Futures Programme. An initiative implemented by Balipara Tract and Frontier Foundation, it focuses on reduction of man-animal conflict in the corridors of Balipara, Assam.

The work that we are doing is scalable since the younger generations are both receptive and proactive. However, this is not an end but the beginning of more work to save our biodiversity and ourselves. Our wining mantra till now has been working for the country through partnerships and support the government since the national interest stands tall for all of us. We are committed to this approach.