Telangana’s teen teaches green with a twist of fun

Hyderabad: For students of 25 govt and private schools across Suryapet and Hyderabad, awareness about pollution isn't just about listening to lectures in their classrooms. They are racing to fold newspaper into environment-friendly bags, debating where a bottle cap belongs, and sculpting Ganesh idols from clay and leaves. Their climate teacher isn't a science graduate, but 17-year-old Siri Vadlamudi, who studied in Trinidad — a Caribbean island synonymous with Christopher Columbus. Suryapet-born Siri returned to India after completing her Class X with the aim of charting newer territories by gamifying climate education. Now, a Class 12 student at Arca Global International School in Hyderabad, she is reimagining climate education and plans to take it to school students in her native Suryapet alongside Hyderabad. "When children lead change, the whole community shifts," says Siri. Led by studentsWith younger brother Sarthak by her side, Siri co-founded Youth Gamification Club (YGC), a student-led network of over 40 members from India and abroad. Its goal is simple: make climate education fun, practical, and led by children themselves. Recognised at COP27, a UN climate change conference and other forums, YGC brings climate awareness directly into classrooms, proving that games can be a powerful tool for change. YGC's digital games include ‘Eco-Me, Eco-Earth', a video-based decision-making game showing the impact of everyday choices, and ‘Trash-Tide', an ocean-themed game guiding sea animals through trash while answering plastic-pollution quizzes. Then there are drag-and-drop sorting games for young kids, as well as Pollination Bee Game, where children role-play as bees to learn how pollination sustains ecosystems. A giant board game — Act to Adapt — simulates communities facing climate hazards, teaching resilience through play. During Ganesh Chaturthi, Siri encouraged eco-friendly clay-and-leaf idols.A spark from a gameThe idea to gamify climate change education struck Siri while watching her brother immersed in Roblox's Natural Disaster Survival game. "I thought, why not use games like these to teach climate change?" What began as an experiment grew into structured school workshops. Her gamification model was showcased at COP27, earning recognition at the climate and environmental innovation challenge, but Siri believes her impact lies in classrooms. "Plastic waste isn't abstract here, it's visible everywhere, even in food cycles," she says.Her drives focus on practical changes such as carrying steel bottles and tiffin boxes, cutting down on single-use plastics, and starting kitchen gardens to reduce waste.In each school, Siri trains eco-ambassadors who continue the campaign even after her workshops are over. These student leaders spark neighbourhood clean-ups, teach siblings about segregation, and persuade parents to cut plastic use. Teachers say the transformation is striking: "Children who once found environmental science dull are now excited."Her achievements go beyond Telangana. She won the Girls Can Code Challenge (US Embassy) for a pollution quiz app, was named best debater at the trust for sustainable living global competition, and researched eco-anxiety among Indian teenagers. Yet she insists her biggest reward is working in schools back home."Global forums gave me confidence, but Suryapet classrooms gave me purpose," she says. For Siri, climate action doesn't always begin with policies or protests, it begins with a classroom full of children having fun.IMPACT IN NUMBERS 25+ schools reached in Telangana 500+ students directly engaged100+ eco-ambassadors trainedDozens of neighbourhood clean-upsVillages adopting eco-friendly festivals