My name is Diya Desai, and I am a senior at Caddo Parish Magnet High School in Shreveport, Louisiana. I have been involved with Project Green Schools for about three years, and I am so excited to have a leadership role this year. I have so many ideas and want to increase youth involvement on our council and become more interactive on our social media accounts. I also serve as a co-President of my school’s environmental club. We have spearheaded many projects like starting composting on our campus, several cleanup days around the community, and partnering with Crayola for the Crayola Color Cycle marker drive. This year, we started an initiative called 20 by 2020 where we encouraged students in our school to complete 20 environmental projects by the end of 2020. I have also competed at my state’s Envirothon competition where we took home 1st Place this past year.I am very interested in the environment and increasing awareness/excitement in my community and even nationally.
Inspired by Project Green Schools, I recently started a campaign in my community to aid people in making a transition to reusable bags. You can follow my Instagram account and become a part of this movement by following @bethechangeshreveport. I believe that plastic bag pollution is a major issue in our world that can be combatted with simple acts like using a reusable bag. With this in mind, I have presented my ideas at several local environmental events. I have also gone to a local grocery store weekly to hand out reusable bags and talk to the people in my city about plastic bag pollution. I recently received a grant from the Jane Goodall foundation and used this money to launch a statewide billboard campaign in Louisiana. I am excited to expand my ideas and interact with the rest of the youth council.
