Journey of ME to WE: Learnings from the Lives of Environmental Enthusiasts

From mindful living to community action, discover how environmental enthusiasts turn personal choices into collective movements, inspiring a culture of responsibility and stewardship.

Some of my earliest memories are of playing in the mud as a toddler. I also remember crafting clay utensils for a science project in Grade 7. Later, in college, my small garden became my sanctuary. I didn’t realise it then, but all of these little moments shaped my love for nature.

That love eventually led me to start Healing Environment, a resource page dedicated to promoting sustainable living practices. Along the way, I explored permaculture, took courses on growing air-purifying plants and natural architecture, and learnt composting, rainwater harvesting, and making use of solar energy. I also started growing some of my own food.      

Through sharing my ongoing journey of mindful living and conscious choices, I hope to inspire others to explore a minimal-waste lifestyle.

At a community level, I remain actively involved in organising zero-waste events, clean-up drives, and tree plantation campaigns. As I immersed myself deeper into this space, I began to reflect on not just what drives me, but also on what motivates others who care about the environment. For us, this wasn’t just a cause or a job. It shaped how we lived. That understanding led me to look for others who had turned their personal choices into community action. It was this realisation that led me to seek out others who had turned personal environmental commitments into powerful collective action. Marking the transition from personal interest (ME) into a collective movement (WE).

I interviewed a few fellow travellers who walked different paths but with the same purpose: serving Mother Earth. I met a millet nutrition coach, Ms Meghana Shukla from Indore, who, after understanding the environmental benefits of eating millet, started coaching people on how to incorporate it into their diets.

A busy but environmentally active dentist, Ritu Garg Rastogi from Faridabad, exemplifies sustainability by using her clinic space as a collection centre for recyclable waste for her community. She has also written a book titled Make it Personal, where she shares simple, actionable steps to build a greener community.

I also met the founder of Green Citizens, Poonam Doshi. Her initiative is a social media movement raising environmental awareness in Pune, constantly using creative methods such as plays and festival stalls to engage residents.

An interesting conversation with Neelam Ahuja of the Aravalli Bachao citizens’ group in Gurgaon revealed the crucial role she was playing by involving local schools and residents in advocating to save the Aravallis, which are under constant threat of destruction.

Many of these environmentalists shared a remarkable problem-solving mindset, a deep sense of gratitude, and responsibility toward society. Interestingly, their journeys often began with personal or familial health challenges. However, their strong connection to nature, cultivated through meaningful school experiences such as participation in environmental or science clubs, nature excursions, and outdoor sports, inspired them to go beyond their immediate circumstances.

This made me reflect on how small but impactful opportunities in a child’s formative years can instil essential skills and values. These experiences not only deepen their connection to nature but also nurture qualities of compassion, responsibility, and environmental stewardship, traits that are essential for shaping future change-makers and guardians of our planet.

Shalini Chablani

Shalini Chablani is a paediatric occupational therapist at Shiv Nadar School, Faridabad. She has been involved in local environmental organisations such as Ecosavera and Green Hands, and volunteers her spare time for different environmental conservation programmes. She has presented and won the Best Poster at the International Conference on Sustainability Education. She uses her social media page, ‘Healing Environment’, to present simple and implementable ways for people to follow an environmentally friendly lifestyle.