They Started by Picking Up Garbage. Now, Two Uttarakhand Schoolgirls Are Bringing Communities Together

In Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, the garbage on the roadside was difficult to miss. What was easier to do was walk past it.

Manvi Rawat and Anshika Gaur, two schoolgirls from the hill town, chose a different response. Instead of waiting for someone else to clean up, they began picking up litter themselves. Their efforts did not immediately win them support. 

People mocked them for what they were doing, turning a simple attempt to clean their surroundings into a test of whether they would continue despite the criticism.

They did.

What began as a small cleanup effort grew into Pauri Eco Warriors, a student-led environmental initiative that brings young people together to tackle litter and plastic pollution. Today, the group has grown beyond its two founders, with more than 40 student members and around 15 to 18 volunteers participating in each cleanup drive.

Their work has also moved beyond collecting waste. Through plantation initiatives, sapling distribution, and Maulyaar, a community festival built around environmental action, Manvi and Anshika are working to make conservation a shared responsibility rather than an occasional activity.

From being mocked to building a movement

The problem the two students responded to is familiar across Indian towns and cities. 

Plastic wrappers, disposable packaging and other waste accumulate in public spaces, along roadsides and near waterways. In mountain regions, where settlements and natural landscapes exist side by side, litter can become an environmental concern that extends beyond the place where it is discarded.

For Manvi and Anshika, the first step was to address the waste they could see around them.

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Their decision was not necessarily the easiest one to make. The mockery they faced illustrates one of the social barriers that can discourage people from participating in community work.

Why cleaning a hill town matters

Pauri Garhwal's landscapes are part of a larger mountain environment in which forests, rivers, settlements and roads are closely connected. Waste left in public spaces can be carried by rainwater into drains and waterways, while discarded plastic can persist in the environment long after the person who dropped it has left.

Cleaning up litter helps remove waste already present, but it cannot prevent the problem from recurring on its own. 

Pauri Eco Warriors has sought to build on this idea by combining cleanup drives with plantation activities, sapling distribution and environmental awareness campaigns. Its stated mission is to protect the district's mountains, forests and rivers through community-led conservation and more sustainable practices.

Maulyaar: taking conservation beyond cleanups

The founders have also taken their efforts into community events through Maulyaar, a festival that brings together activities such as environmental runs, plantation drives, cleanups, and awareness campaigns.

Environmental awareness, after all, is not only about knowing that plastic pollution is harmful. It is also about translating that knowledge into habits and collective action. 

What happens after the cleanup?

Pauri Eco Warriors' stated achievements extend beyond its regular student group. The initiative reports more than 10,000 trees planted, over 15 rivers cleaned, more than 500 active volunteers, over 25 events organised, activities across 30-plus villages and five awards received.

These figures point to an effort that has grown beyond the founders' original cleanup drives. 

For Manvi and Anshika, the journey from being mocked for picking up garbage to building a student-led initiative offers a reminder that community action can begin on a small scale.

 It does not replace the responsibility of local authorities to provide effective waste management, but it can bring more people into the effort to protect the places they share.

Sources:

‘Protecting-Our Mountains,Our Future’: Pauri Eco Warriors