Sat Mar 15 00:02:07 UTC 2025: ## Visakhapatnam Students’ US Fellowship Inspires Green Initiatives

**VISAKHAPATNAM, March 15, 2025** – Four final-year BSc students from Dr. Lankapalli Bullayya College in Visakhapatnam have returned from a 10-day U.S. fellowship, brimming with ideas to improve their campus sustainability. The students – T. Harshitha, A. Teja, M. Ashwini, and J. Karthikeya – participated in the Climate Tank Accelerator competition, a collaboration between the Student Society for Climate Change Awareness (SSCCA) and Seeds of Peace, USA. Their project, “Pioneering Blue Carbon Ecosystems: Restoring Seagrass Meadows in Visakhapatnam Coast,” took them to Vanderbilt University and Washington D.C.

The fellowship brought together young innovators from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh to address climate change challenges. At Vanderbilt, the students were impressed by the university’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2030 and innovative practices like hydroponic farming and waste segregation. They presented their seagrass project to professors and participated in a “Greenathon,” pitching ideas for campus sustainability.

Their U.S. tour also included a visit to Caney Fork Farms, showcasing traditional sustainable farming methods, and meetings with US Senators Cory Booker and Peter Welch, along with various climate activists in Washington D.C. The students interacted with peers from other countries, learning about initiatives such as reducing cloth waste through women’s empowerment (Bangladesh) and revitalizing barren lands using traditional African farming techniques (Pakistan).

Inspired by their experiences, the students plan to implement several sustainable practices on their college campus, including hydroponic farming for the hostel kitchen, waste segregation at the source, and a ban on single-use plastics. They emphasized the invaluable experience of sharing ideas with international peers and the renewed commitment to their climate research and seagrass restoration project.

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