Twelve year olds can save the planet! The internationally recognized Green Rhinos Program uses tools of transformational leadership training and community based efforts to conserve India's remaining green spaces and find solutions to urban problems. Since 2014, the youth nature leaders, the Green Rhinos, have worked to plant nearly 28,000 trees. 3600 middle and high school students have transformed into Green Rhinos!
Every day, India loses nearly 135 hectares of forest and gains 40,000 people. In the face of such large scale environmental damage, it is common for people to adopt a pessimistic outlook to environmental change. This is exacerbated by an education system that focuses on passive learning rather than action. School students in India learn about environmental problems, but are often unable to develop solutions to these problems. The Green Rhinos Program provides a way to address these problems.
The Green Rhinos Program creates youth nature leaders. Middle and high school students with an interest in nature conservation become Green Rhinos! They are exposed to the biodiversity around them and are given tools to create and implement a local nature conservation project. They involve their peers, family and community. By offering students the chance to go out into the world and participate first-hand in solving problems, the Green Rhinos Program awakes the spirit of environmentalism.
The Green Rhinos Project improves environmental conditions by working with local communities. By giving the students the chance to connect with nature and make their visions become reality, the Green Rhinos Program creates an attitude shift in the students, with the aim of creating a new generation of environmentalists in India. The Program aims to create 5,000 Green Rhinos in India by December 2018.
