At Gateway International School, I met 50 young minds who reminded me that planetary hope isn’t a concept. It’s a classroom full of students with music, games, memes, and ideas that bend time.
I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Principal Jaicy Shalom Bell and the facilitators Lipi Sachdeva, Lendl and Rahul of the Gateway International School (CBSE, Padur)!
What does sustainability have to do with music, baking, gaming, books, sci-fi, and screenplays that bend time?
Turns out, everything.
I was recently invited to Gateway International School, Padur Campus, where Principal Jaicy Bell Shalom graciously hosted me for a session with 40–50 spirited 12th graders. I wanted to give them an honest but empowering glimpse into planetary sustainability. Not as a boring “extra subject” — but as something deeply connected to their own interests, passions, and futures.
We are celebrating this 🌍 Earth Day 2025 on April 22nd with the theme, ‘Our Planet, Our Power’.
The session at Gateway International School was a living example of that theme—because when young people bring their passions to the table, planetary regeneration isn’t just possible, it’s already happening.
I began by introducing myself not through titles, but through the things I love. My quirks, passions, interests, and what drives me every day.
Then I asked them to do the same:
‘Write down five things that make you, you. Anything that brings you joy. Hobbies, obsessions, skills, dreams, fandoms, talents, even guilty pleasures’.
From there, we dove into the planetary polycrisis — how it isn’t just climate change, but a broader set of crises. I explained the concept of planetary boundaries in simple terms: Earth has nine critical systems we rely on (like clean air, water, forests, stable climate), and we’ve already crossed six of them.
We talked about how microplastics are now found in human blood. How plastic bans alone don’t solve everything — these issues aren’t black and white. I emphasized the intersectional layers behind every environmental decision.
I told them that Florida is already becoming uninsurable due to climate risks, and raised the question: What if that happens in Chennai? What would it mean for housing? Real estate? Who would be impacted first and worst? This isn’t just about science. It’s about justice. It’s about access. It’s about who gets left behind when the systems break down.
We talked about Delhi’s smog being equivalent to smoking 50 cigarettes a day, and how Indian cities are running out of groundwater. We discussed the extinction of 1 million species — including threats to pollinators like bees, critical to biodiversity and human survival.
I even pulled in the storyline of Interstellar to make analogies about space, time, and the impact of ecological collapse. We explored how space debris is polluting outer space, and that we can’t treat our planet or our orbit like a dumping ground.
And once the heavy stuff was over, I turned the session over to them.
They regrouped based on shared interests — music lovers, sports enthusiasts, gamers, bakers, bookworms, movie buffs, artists, and storytellers. And then they got to work.
What they came up with blew me away:
- An awareness campaign using fortune cookies
- A plantable book project
- A sci-fi screenplay about the Anthropocene and time travel
- A game where the player travels backwards through time to reverse climate change
- Comics and graphic novels where protagonists bend space-time to fix the future
- Infographic posters on sustainability dos & don’ts focused on keeping the planet healthy
- A music performance of Michael Jackson’s, ‘Heal the World!
They even debated with me:
- Can we really revive a dire wolf or did we just engineer something similar?
- Was 2024 the warmest year ever, or the warmest in recorded human history?
They weren’t just listening. They were thinking. Fact-checking. Building. Questioning. And in many ways, they were teaching me.
But I didn’t want this to end with a single session. So I asked them to go further:
Turn your ideas into real projects.
Start climate clubs. Host documentary screenings. Plan awareness campaigns. Build games, design posters, create music. Make this a movement inside your school. And do it your way.
And the best part? Their Principal pledged that she would support it.
She committed to turning their ideas into real, supported school-wide efforts. To not let this be a one-time event. To nurture these ideas into clubs, campaigns, performances, and projects that ripple beyond the classroom.
Because here’s what I believe:
You don’t need a degree in environmental science to start helping the planet.
You don’t need to change who you are. You just need to bring who you are into the fight for the future.
Where We Ended — And Where It Begins:
What makes you, you, could also be what helps regenerate a better, more livable planet.
But here’s the truth: Earth has taken on so much damage—so much pollution, extraction, deforestation, heating—that scientists are warning it may soon lose its ability to regenerate itself.
News outlets across the world are reporting that our planet is reaching critical tipping points.
Which is why this generation’s ideas, energy, and action matter more than ever.
You just have to see it that way — and start right where you are.
Here is the feedback from the students:
