Every spring, Honors Graduation awards a few graduating high school seniors each a $10,000 scholarship to go toward their tuition at their chosen college. In order to be considered for one of the scholarships, applicants must plan, initiate, execute, and oversee a community improvement project. One of my favorite parts of my job here at Honors Graduation is the chance to read through all of the scholarship applications that get submitted. It’s never easy to choose winners! There are truly some amazing young people who are making change in their own communities.
This year, we chose four deserving seniors who dedicated countless hours to their causes. Each project was inspiring and they each deserve their own spotlight post here on our blog. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing more about each project and the amazing people behind them.
Our first spotlight post is on Aditi Muduganti, who saw a need for young students to have access to a hands-on learning opportunity where they could see the impact of climate change and environmentally responsible actions. Her project, Roots & Rise: A Youth Pocket Forest, did just that, and will continue to do so as the forest grows and matures.
Aditi just graduated from Onalaska High School in Wisconsin, and will be attending MIT in the fall. She loves chocolate covered strawberries, ballet dancing, and learning about startups. She has a passion for learning, especially about math and physics. She also enjoys researching machine learning and doing astrophysics. In addition to being the driving force behind Roots & Rise, Aditi also received a grant that she used to author and publish a children’s book, Tech Tales: Heroes for a Sustainable Future.
When asked what inspired her to do her project and why she chose to serve the demographic she did, Aditi said, “What inspired me to do my project, Roots and Rise, is that I wanted to implement a hands on learning approach for younger students in my community. I did this though the medium of planting a Miyawaki Forest at a local elementary school because these forests grow incredibly quickly and mature 10x faster than a normal forest. By planting only native plants very densely, this is able to be achieved. This is Wisconsin’s first Miyawaki forest, and I hope other communities implement this planting approach to decrease their grass cover in their communities… I chose to plant this forest at an elementary school because younger students need to understand the effects of climate change, as they will be the leaders tackling these problems. In my rural community, I wanted these students to have a better understanding of the science behind sustainability and climate change because every student deserves knowledge, no matter their background.”
To get started on her project, Aditi reached out to her local Sierra Club to learn who to connect with to obtain the plants she would need to make her dream a reality. She also said that she “…did a lot of research on Miyawaki forests by finding out the optimal soil type, how much of each type of plant we needed, which plants were native to my region, and how to arrange them. I organized a community planting day after advertising around my county. This brought together multiple students and community members on a hot day to plant together! I also installed an educational sign at the forest. I secured funding for this whole project through the La Crosse Youth Climate Action Fund where I got a grant to complete the project over the summer.”
One of the most rewarding parts of this project has been seeing the impact the forest has already had on young minds. Seeing and hearing the excitement of elementary school students as they interact with the forest has made every bit of the project worth it! The forest will continue to provide educational opportunities for years to come as the forest grows and matures. Aditi plans to come back to visit and tend to the forest whenever she comes back to her hometown. Her hope is that students at the elementary school will learn how to properly weed and care for the forest as it grows.
Amazing work, Aditi! We wish you the best as you move forward with your college experience!
You can find out more about the Miyawaki Forest Method by clicking here.