MBIFL 2025: Inside a young mind's mission to plant 10 million trees
Prasiddhi Singh, a 12-year-old environmental activist from Chengalpattu district in Tamil Nadu, has made a remarkable impact at a very young age. Taking part in a session titled 'How I Planted One Lakh Trees' at the 6th edition of the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (MBIFL), she sought to inspire young minds, especially Gen Alpha.
The discussion focused on her journey as a young leader and her achievements, including the Prime Minister’s National Child Award, the PM Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (2021), and her role as a UNICEF Child Champion Speaker at the Tamil Nadu Climate Summit 3.0. She is also the founder of the Prasiddhi Forest Foundation, which actively works on forest restoration and afforestation.
Her dream of planting trees began at the age of five when Cyclone Vardah devastated her native place in 2016. Following the cyclone, she actively participated in tree plantation drives across Tamil Nadu from 2016 to 2018. At the age of six, she set a goal to plant one lakh trees. When questioned about her mission, she confidently replied: "There is only a need for a small candle to light up a dark room."
Turning a dream into reality
She faced three key questions: Where? Which? Why? She found answers to all of them. Prasiddhi decided to plant trees in schools, with a focus on fruit-bearing trees to support biodiversity, providing food and shelter for birds, squirrels, and butterflies -- exactly the kind of thriving ecosystem she envisioned.
Funding for such a large-scale project was a challenge, but she tackled it through eco-friendly campaigns and fundraising initiatives. She built a community of like-minded people who supported her cause. To raise funds, she taught painting, yoga, and gardening to children, channeling the earnings into her afforestation drive.
Once she had secured funding, she approached school management with her idea of planting trees on school premises. Convincing adults as a six-year-old was a significant challenge, but people believed in her dream, and she fought to turn it into reality.
Record-breaking environmentalist
Today, Prasiddhi holds the title of India's youngest fruit forest creator and is also the youngest delegate at the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). She has planted over 1.3 lakh trees across 110 different locations, reaching 80,000+ people-a truly global impact.
At MBIFL, she shared her five-step mantra with young delegates.
- Stay Motivated
- Stay Updated
- Explore
- Take Action
- Collaborate More
She also mentioned the festival's enthusiastic and high-energy festive mood. Bringing together people from different fields is the fuel for currents of change. She found MBIFL to be a truly change-making venue.
She emphasised that gratitude and staying grounded have been the key to her success.
Her latest initiative -- Green Brigade -- has been launched in 200 schools across Tamil Nadu. It focuses on afforestation, lake restoration, and biodiversity protection, ensuring a greener and healthier planet for future generations.
Her journey proves that age is no barrier to making a difference; all it takes is passion, persistence, and a vision for change.