Founders
Atiksh Bordia
Atiksh is a high school student in New York committed to working for animal science research, wildlife conservation and climate change. Atiksh has always been passionate about Wildlife conservation and research. He started volunteering with the World Conservation Society (WCS) discovery guide program at the Central Park Zoo to further his learning and elevate his conservation efforts in 2021. Since, he has been actively involved in the education programs at the zoo and spent 300+ hours volunteering and educating children on the importance of wildlife conservation, habitat restoration and the work of WCS across the world.
He is deeply passionate about leading conservation and research efforts in his local community and has partnered with the Mianus River Gorge as a Wildlife Technician to study deer population and its effects in the local community. He has spent the last year setting up field cameras and analyzing hundreds of photographs and data collected to identify the deer in the area, study their food habits and track their movements. As a Field Biologist Intern at the Alley Pond Environmental Center in summer of 2024 he studied local ecosystems and advocated to protect and preserve open spaces and waterbodies, and advocated for sustainable environmental policies and practices. His research on the theory of Island Biogeography under Log Islands in Randall’s Island was presented at the Urban Barcode Research Program Symposium in New York.
He has started various sustainability initiatives and fundraising drives to continue to forward the mission of a sustainable future for a healthy planet. During his current City Sem class, Atiksh has worked with multiple partner organizations such as Brook Park and La Morada in Mott Haven, as well as South Bronx Unite in the South Bronx. Through these efforts, he has promoted environmental sustainability while also helping local communities by participating in community service.
Suvid Bordia
Suvid Bordia is a high school student in New Jersey committed to working for sustainable initiatives and research as well as grassroot efforts to bring change in local communities. He has spent several hours volunteering since 2019 as a youth ambassador with the Millburn for Climate Action and Columbia University Center for Sustainable Development Eco-Ambassador Program, working on a variety of initiatives.
From 2019 to present, Suvid has participated in projects such as green energy awareness campaigns, expanding local use of native plants, talking with local merchants regarding single plastic use, youth debates with Millburn Township Committee for policy initiatives on climate change, and clothes and thrift fares for clothing reuse. He participated in campaigns and town speaker forums alongside other passionate Millburn school students that led to passing of an ordinance to ban single use plastic in Millburn. He participated in a town candidate debate between the local youth and Republicans and Democrats in Millburn in Oct 2023. They discussed policy initiatives on environmental topics such as waste management, native plant pollinators, and natural disaster resilience. As part of youth volunteers, he educated Rotarians and CivicStory organizations on important lessons about ecological and climate change issues in Aug’24.
Suvid has been fortunate to be an eco-ambassador with Columbia Center of Sustainable Development under the mentorship of Dr Radhika Iyengar. He was invited and participated as a youth moderator at the NY Youth Climate Education Virtual Summit organized by the Earth Institute at Columbia University, 2022. He was also invited as a speaker and panelist as a Millburn Education Environmental Challenge winner at the ‘US Summit for Transformative Education’ from Feb 23-25, 2023. He attended the 2023 Columbia University Earth Institute “Educate a Child Series: Lessons From The Field” as a Columbia University Eco-Ambassador. Suvid also conducted community science microplastic research under Dr. Joaquim Goes in June 2024 at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory as part of New Jersey and New York Sea Grant collaborative efforts. The research demonstrated high levels of microplastics in the waste waters from household laundry usage and shrimps used for food consumption and highlighted the importance of limiting their use for ocean life and mitigating their health hazards on all life forms.
He has designed an app for tackling household food waste called Mindful Bites that won the third prize in his district in the Congressional App Challenge 2023. He has also won awards for 3 consecutive years in the Millburn STEM Environmental challenge 2022-2024 on topics around food waste, sustainable energy and fossil fuels. He started the All for Oceans Chapter in his school in 2023 to promote the UN SDG of Life below water, advocating for ocean cleanups and limiting microplastic use. He was also part of the student group that started the initiative at his school where food waste is donated to the table to table organizations on a weekly basis.