Manipal (DHNS): Avani Awasthee, is a second-year mass communication student studying in School of Communication, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).

Awasthe told DH that she is a founder of ‘The Recycle Army,’ an initiative which focusses on environmental awareness. She has been the
youngest Indian girl to embark on an expedition to Antarctica and in February 2018, she visited again as a mentor, as a part of the 2014
Foundation.

She chose environmental awareness to quench her thirst. She was 14 years old when she made a two-minute video on saving Antarctica and guess what? She not only stood third in the competition initiated by The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), but was crowned as one of the 26 ambassadors for the Swedish food packaging giant, TETRA PAK.

Eager to contribute more, Avani continued to be a part of TERI as an environmental crusader and she also went on to adapt the eco-lifestyle by making changes to her home, which soon turned out to be environmental-friendly.

Not just that, she also started an initiative called, ‘The Recycle Army’, through which she managed to pull out a crowd of people, who cycled to places and created awareness about recycling. Thanks to her ideologies, she went on to run some successful campaigns like waterless Holi, crackerless Diwali and cleaning the tiny hilltops.

Well, her idea of cycling to value recycling was not just successful, but also garnered a great amount of attention from the mainstream media and yes, also from Robert Swan, the only human who covered the North Pole and the South Pole on foot and has also relentlessly worked all his life to voice against the environmental crisis.

Her dream of getting things done was nearing reality, as she was handpicked by Robert Swan afterseeing her interest in the subject, which he is been involved for years.

She was pre-selected for the ‘Leadership of the Edge’ expedition and her trip was partially funded by Robert Swan’s Foundation. She joined the team of 143 participants hailing from 30 different nations and embarked on a trip to Antarctica.