Earth Day: 10-year-old Prasiddhi Singh has already planted 1 lakh trees — and she’s just begun

"Everyone who thinks that a small child cannot bring a change, I just want to remind them that a 4-mm seed has the potential to grow into a 400-feet tall tree," said 10-year-old Prasiddhi Singh, Founder of the Prasiddhi Forest Foundation, who is based out of Tamil Nadu.

As the planet observes Earth Day on April 22, to acknowledge and spread awareness about climate change, Singh, who is an environmentalist and social entrepreneur, talks about her love for Nature, her journey so far when it comes to conserving it and her future plans.

Singh said she has two missions — "My first mission is to keep planting trees to enhance biodiversity until it becomes our culture and my second mission is to keep spreading awareness and bring people together until it gets  translated in our literature," Singh told CNBC-TV18.  She has planted over one lakh trees in the country and conducted more than 600 awareness sessions and workshops, so far.

How it all began?

Singh said she has always felt an unconditional bond with Nature. "Just admiring the rustling of leaves, the buzzing of bees, and the waves of the seas, has always been a part of me. It has always felt joyful to do that," she said.

However, when the Vardah cyclone hit Tamil Nadu — Singh was just four-years-old then —something shifted within her. "I felt so gloomed (sic) and doomed," she said, adding, "The entire road was flooded, trees were getting uprooted. And I felt that I had to do something about it," she said.

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Subsequently, from the age of 4-6 years, she has participated in multiple tree plantation drives. "After gaining acceptable knowledge in those two years — at how the seed to sapling creation is done, how the nursery is maintained, how the plantation is done, fencing, weeding, watering, all these procedures are followed — at the age of six, I launched the Prasiddhi Forest Foundation," she said.

Prasiddhi Forests, a movement

Singh considers this to be a movement "because there are several people involved, starting from students of all ages, to villagers, farmers, groups, companies, NGOs, many people. Individuals who want to make a difference," She said.

Singh has connected with people across over 20 countries as part of this movement and has over 40,000 impact creators who are a part of this movement. "In India, I have done plantations in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Maharashtra and small plantations in Kerala and Dehradun as well," she said.

Her inspiration

Singh said Nature has always been the biggest source of inspiration for her whether it is for solving challenges or coming up with new solutions, among others.

"I realised this when I was much younger. Trees taught me to never give up because whenever we cut them down, they again try to grow back. Bees taught me to collaborate as the bees pollinate the flower, which in turn gives them nectar. The seas taught me to celebrate, because whether it is low tide or high tide, they are always enjoying," she said.

Future plans

Singh said she wants to be an explorer as every second new innovations keep happening. "I don't want to restrict myself to a particular thing. I believe I need to keep exploring fields, different projects and keep understanding them," she said.

Talking about the fields she is interested in, Singh said, "There are Four Ss." These are:

Soil: Which is beneath us and a basis of life. "Without it, most our resources will not be there. Soil is essential. You may be aware of the WWW — world wide web. So trees created this 370 million years ago as they took birth on this planet — a wood wide web, which is an intricate root connection through which trees can talk, trade and evolve with another," she said, adding that she doesn't just want to protect them, she wants to understand them as well.

Spirituality: "This is inside of us. Until we do not know ourselves, we cannot change the world," she said.

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Sustainability: This includes the way we dress, how we use things, how our lifestyle is maintained. "It is more about maintaining our lifestyle in an eco-friendly way. I want to pursue that," she said.

Space: "I have to agree that we are cutting trees on planet Earth and want to plant them on Mars, we have to protect our Earth first. But I want to explore as there is immense future in that (space) as well," she said.

Singh will now also feature in a National Geographic documentary for its One for Change initiative, which will air on April 22, which is also Earth Day. The initiative focuses on youngsters like her and five others, who have been consciously working towards planet conservation and have debunked the myth that children are too young to drive a change.

"I believe the ‘One For Change’ moto — that change begins with one. It is something I am completely aligned with. People think they need a huge mission to actually bring an impact, but it is about individuals starting their journey, taking action and the impact getting multiplied. One For Change actually becomes a bridge because I want to connect with people and share with the planet, who are ignorant and want to understand about it in-depth and take steps. So this platform is a bridge that connects both of them together and is bringing an actual impact," she said.

Accolades

Singh, who was also the youngest awardee of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar in 2021, has also won the Global Child Prodigy Award, is the brand ambassador for Beti Bachao Beti Padhao for the Tamil Nadu government as well as the Green Tamil Nadu Mission's brand ambassador.

She recently attended the G20 Youth 20 Consultation as the youngest delegate.

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