First Steps Towards Sustainability: Surbhi Jain and Maxwell Feldman

This article originally appeared on Medium - A New Game

The climate crisis feels far bigger than any of us — and it’s easy to get overwhelmed and forget that change can start with a small step. Looking to protect the environment, 17-year-olds Surbhi Jain and Maxwell Feldman from Seattle, Washington started off by installing a compost bin and ended up founding their own organization: The Tomorrow Project.

Through the Tomorrow Project, they’re leading workshops, school-wide projects, and classroom activities to get students familiar with what it means to be environmentally conscious. Along with their other teammates, they’ve spent a lot of time strategizing, refining their curriculum, and reaching out to schools to promote their work.

Ashoka Young Changemaker Manat Kaur spoke with Surbhi and Maxwell about their journey and how first steps don’t always create a straight line to success.

Ashoka insight

We have to help people develop sustainable mindsets. This is how our education program came about. We realized that if we start teaching people about the importance of using a compost bin correctly, protecting our local waterways, reducing air pollution, caring for wildlife, then youth will grow up with an understanding of why caring for the environment is important.