Ramjas International School, R K Puram, New Delhi, India
For Richa Sharma, environmental responsibility must extend beyond awareness campaigns to everyday choices and practical action. As Principal of Ramjas International School, R.K. Puram, New Delhi, she encourages students to explore solutions to environmental challenges through experiential learning, creative thinking and active participation.
Her approach connects classroom learning with real-world concerns, enabling students to understand environmental issues and experiment with ways to address them.
Connecting with Nature: Initiatives such as Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam and Ek Ped Desh Ke Naam encourage students to participate in plantation drives and develop a connection with the natural environment. Urban farming further introduces them to food systems and the importance of natural resources.
These activities offer practical opportunities to understand the relationship between human choices and the environment.
Rethinking Waste and Consumption: Reducing waste and promoting responsible consumption are central to Richa Sharma’s efforts. Students are encouraged to avoid single-use plastics by choosing cloth and jute bags, reusable utensils and responsible packaging.
Collaborations with Indian Pollution Control Association (IPCA), Green Mentors, Delhi Research Implementation and Innovation (DRIIV) support plastic collection, segregation and recycling, while exposing students to wider sustainability and innovation networks. Aerobins help process biodegradable waste into compost, and initiatives promoting paper recycling and responsible paper use reinforce the importance of conserving resources.
Turning Waste into Opportunities: Richa Sharma encourages students to explore how discarded materials and agricultural residues can be put to productive use. Projects include making paper from paddy stubble, developing stubble-fused boards and creating value-added products. Experiments with bioplastics provide another opportunity to investigate alternatives to conventional plastics.
The Eco Club extends this approach through creative reuse. Students have made folders from discarded materials and planters from discarded pens, used handmade folders for HHW submissions, and explored the use of discarded flowers to develop natural incense products.
Such projects combine creativity with practical problem-solving, encouraging students to look at waste as a potential resource rather than something to be discarded without consideration.
Empowering Student Leadership: The Eco Club provides a platform for students to participate in awareness campaigns, collection drives, plantation activities and hands-on experimentation. By involving them directly in these initiatives, Richa Sharma encourages initiative, collaboration and a sense of responsibility.
The installation of solar panels at the school adds a practical dimension to its environmental efforts, complementing its work on waste management and resource conservation.
Recognition and a Lasting Legacy: Ramjas International School secured fifth rank in the Green School Award, reflecting its environmental initiatives.
For Richa Sharma, however, the larger ambition is to nurture green mindsets alongside green spaces. Her leadership seeks to make environmental responsibility part of school culture, encouraging students to question established practices, explore innovative solutions and carry these lessons into their everyday lives.
By combining practical learning with opportunities for student-led action, she is helping young people develop the curiosity and problem-solving skills needed to respond thoughtfully to environmental challenges.