Solve Ninja Leadership Accelerator: Tree Project

During the Solve Ninja Leadership Accelerator with Reap Benefit, I tackled the issue of declining green cover by developing a solution that provides actionable, data-driven insights to communities about their local tree density. The lack of awareness about minimum green cover requirements, and the perception that enough trees exist, motivated me to address this critical gap.

Problem & Insights

After witnessing seven trees uprooted on my street, I realized that people didn’t feel the loss was significant enough to act, revealing a disconnect between perceived and actual environmental impact. I surveyed 150+ people in my community, identifying the core reasons behind their inaction:

Lack of data on green cover requirements.
Belief that existing greenery was sufficient.
Misconceptions about the efficiency of trees in carbon absorption.

Solution & Innovation

I proposed a solution to provide personalized, localized data on green cover, with a focus on making this information actionable. Using Google Earth Engine and other geospatial tools, I began working on a dataset that would offer citizens insights into their area's green cover deficit, while allowing them to report data directly to government bodies to prompt action. The goal was to empower people with clear, localized goals for tree plantation and maintenance.

To present this solution, I designed an app prototype that visually represented this data, and presented it during the Avery Dennison Scholarship competition, winning the Avery Dennison Scholar Award 2022 and receiving $1300 USD in funding for the project.

Key Achievements:

Surveyed 150+ people to understand behavioral barriers to environmental action.
Developed an app prototype that provides localized green cover data and enables citizens to take informed actions.
Won the Avery Dennison Scholar Award for the innovation.
The project was recognized within the NIT Trichy community for its potential to address campus and local environmental challenges.

Solve Ninja Leadership Accelerator Experience:

As part of this 6-month accelerator, I:

Learned to develop clear problem statements and investigate issues with real data.
Enhanced my prototyping skills and refined my approach to presenting solutions.
Received personalized mentorship and access to resources, including a stipend for completing key milestones.
Built a network of industry leaders and young innovators through monthly webinars and workshops.

The project is a testament to how data-driven solutions can engage communities to combat environmental issues like green cover decline, and how actionable insights can shift the narrative from indifference to proactive problem-solving.