Hasti Modi, who started her NGO, Green City Charitable Trust in hometown Bhavnagar at the age of 15, was recently honoured with the ‘Diana Award’, the highest honour a young person can receive for social action or humanitarian efforts.
It was only natural for Hasti Modi to grow up to be a changemaker in the field because her father, who loved the outdoors, served as an inspiration to her since she was a young child.
“I’m from Bhavnagar. My father has always loved nature, and it instilled my love for environment. I’ve always had this vision and I really wanted to do something for nature,” says the 22-year-old, who is a gold medallist from Ahmedabad University, where she completed her Bachelors in Business Administration degree.
“I’ve always been fascinated and enthralled by the beauty of the nature. I also studied a course of biomimicry at Ahmedabad University, where I learnt about what we can learn from plants and animals around us. I’m a creative person. On someone’s birthday, I plant a tree with a message for them. On Independence Day, we planted trees with Tricolour tree guards on airport roads in Bhavnagar”, she said.
“I went to France for a semester exchange in college and I was really excited to represent India there. I spoke about my vision there as well. I’m the youngest in the cohort of Masters in Public Administration in London School of Economics.
“I also started a plantation drive in London. I was looking for someone to collaborate with as it would make things easier for achieving this in another nation. I also wanted the people and the community to participate in this drive,” she tells, adding that their campaign also got featured in the green canopy initiative being run by the Queen which is on their website for the platinum jubilee celebration.
Recently, Hasti led a team of 20 university volunteers at a high-level meeting on carbon-negative food systems hosted by the ‘Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet’ at ‘COP26’ in Glasgow.
“Ahmedabad University has been very helpful in helping me balance my academics as well as pursuing my passion for environment. My motto is, ‘I am the change that I want to see in people’,” signs off Hasti.