my uttarakhand news Bureau
Dehradun, 3 Dec: Waste Warriors Society, under its flagship youth model, Youth United for Waste and Climate Actions (YUWA), which started in 2023, successfully concluded the Closing Ceremony of Green Gurukul and Ecolympics 2025 at the Doon Medical College Auditorium on 29 November, bringing together more than 750 students from Dehradun, Mussoorie, Rishikesh, Vikas Nagar, and Roorkee for an inspiring celebration of climate action, creativity, and youth leadership.
The event marked the culmination of two of the region’s most dynamic youth-led environmental competitions. Green Gurukul, a month-long inter-school initiative, enabled students to work on practical, hands-on activities related to waste management and climate action, helping them build teamwork, problem-solving abilities and environmental awareness. Its college-level counterpart, Ecolympics, similarly encouraged young adults to explore Dehradun’s waste and climate issues more deeply through creative, community-oriented tasks. Both competitions strive to enable young people to learn by doing — strengthening their civic participation, leadership, and sense of responsibility toward the environment.
This year’s ceremony was presided over by Prof (Dr) Geeta Jain, Principal of Doon Medical College, who awarded trophies, medals, certificates, and special recognitions to winning teams, finalists, mentoring faculty members, and jury members. The winners of Green Gurukul 2025 were announced as The Doon Girls School (1st), Raja Rammohan Roy Academy (2nd) and Universal Academy (3rd). In Ecolympics 2025, Uttaranchal Ayurvedic College secured 1st place, followed by Graphic Era (Deemed to be University) in 2nd place and SGRR College of Nursing in 3rd place. All participating institutions received certificates in acknowledgment of their commitment, enthusiasm, and contribution to environmental initiatives across the city.
A key highlight this year was the introduction of the Changemaker Award, designed to honour students who displayed exceptional dedication, consistency, creativity, and community impact during the competitions. From more than 100 entries and nominations, 40 outstanding young changemakers were selected and felicitated on stage.
The ceremony also featured a deeply engaging Stories of Change segment, where selected students shared transformative experiences from their climate-action journeys. Representatives from Shri Guru Nanak Boys School and PYDS spoke about their resilience and leadership — including how the PYDS team completed all activities despite school closures and infrastructure challenges after the cloudburst. From the Ecolympics cohort, students from SGRR College and IMS Unison University shared how they conducted transect walks to identify civic issues and how their awareness work prompted canteen staff to begin waste segregation — clear examples of youth-led systems change.
Students from the Uttaranchal College of Biomedical Sciences & Hospitality performed a dynamic flash mob, energising the audience and showcasing one of their notable Ecolympics activities. A major audience favourite, the Trashion showcase, featured six exceptionally crafted outfits made entirely from waste materials.
Participants — including Vineeta, Jashika, Ishita Rawat, Divyanshi, Priya Verma, and showstopper Jagmohan Negi — presented innovative, thematic, and powerful fashion statements that demonstrated the artistic and expressive potential of discarded materials, reinforcing the message of sustainability through creativity.
The ceremony also honoured the respected jury members whose expertise shaped the evaluation of both competitions. Bharat Bansal (Reap Benefit), a youth climate leader and NYCC Fellow; Julien Kumar Banagam Banaszuk, a climate entrepreneur and Country Coordinator for Climate Fresk India; and Ar. Ayush Bakliwal, Co-founder and Principal Architect at Aardra Studio, were felicitated for their leadership, insights, and meaningful contributions.
This year’s combined impact highlights the growing climate engagement among young people in the Himalayan region. Green Gurukul 2025 saw participation from 39 schools, involving 984 students, who completed 267 activities, initiated 2,745 climate actions, and recovered 2815.3 kg of waste. Ecolympics 2025 brought together 24 colleges and 807 students, leading to 231 activities, 3,289 climate actions, and 3250 kg of waste recovered. Together, the two competitions mobilised 63 institutions, engaged 1791 youth, and resulted in 6034 climate actions and over 6065 kg of waste being recovered — a powerful demonstration of collective youth-led environmental impact.
The Closing Ceremony concluded with a shared commitment towards building a cleaner, greener, and more climate-resilient Dehradun. Through the YUWA model, Waste Warriors Society continues to nurture environmental leadership, civic responsibility, and climate action among young people, ensuring that the next generation is prepared, empowered, and inspired to protect the Indian Himalayan Region.
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