While creating their video for the Students’ Climate Action Conference, a team from DPS Odisha stumbled upon a powerful truth—of the ten coastal villages they set out to document, two had already vanished beneath rising seawater. Shocked by the scale of climate-driven displacement, the students felt compelled to act. Beyond the competition, they created a dedicated website to document these disappearing villages and share credible information with peers, educators, and local communities.

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Their initiative quickly grew into a collective movement. Parents, teachers, and the school principal amplified the effort, supporting tree plantation drives, cleanliness campaigns, and wider dissemination of the students’ work. What began as a project for a three-minute video evolved into a sustained community-led climate action effort.

In Tamil Nadu, students took their conference learning far beyond the assignment by forming Student-Led Climate Action Clubs within their schools. These clubs quickly became active hubs where students trained their peers, engaged with local communities, and promoted climate awareness, adaptation measures, and everyday sustainable practices.

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Through these clubs, students deepened their understanding of local climate vulnerabilities and emerged as youth climate leaders. Their efforts mobilised families, schools, and neighbourhoods, demonstrating how empowered students can spark widespread awareness and strengthen climate resilience at the grassroots level. A key driver of their success was the strong support from parents, who recognised the students’ leadership and encouraged them to continue their climate initiatives beyond school.

At St. Teresa’s School, Darjeeling, during their project work, students identified a critical ecological concern i.e. the decline in pollination linked to falling bee populations, posing risks to local agriculture and biodiversity. Recognising the urgency, students collaborated closely with local beekeepers, combining traditional knowledge with student-led inquiry to support and strengthen community beekeeping practices.

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Alongside this research-driven intervention, students initiated wider sustainability efforts within the school, including systematic waste segregation, awareness campaigns, promotion of the 3Rs, and household composting demonstrations. By documenting their composting units, flower gardens, and field interactions, students showcased practical climate solutions in action.

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The initiative highlights how conference-based research can evolve into meaningful, locally rooted climate action—empowering students to bridge science, livelihoods, and community resilience while making sustainability an integral part of everyday life.