About The Founder
Pavan Raj Gowda: Champion of Environmental Stewardship
From the tender age of 4, Pavan Raj Gowda exhibited an unwavering passion for environmental conservation. His commitment was evident even then, as he embarked on a journey that would shape his life and impact the world around him.
At the age of 8, Pavan founded Green Kids Now, an organization dedicated to nurturing the next generation of eco-conscious leaders. But his impact didn’t stop there. In second grade, he penned a poignant story titled “The Two Lakes”, vividly illustrating the consequences of our actions and emphasizing the collective responsibility of the community to safeguard our planet.
Pavan’s vision extended beyond storytelling. At just 10 years old, he orchestrated the inaugural Green Kids Conference, generously sponsored by Microsoft Corporation. This groundbreaking event empowered children by educating them about environmental issues and equipping them with the tools to take meaningful action. It served as both a wellspring of inspiration and a call to action, urging young minds to embrace leadership and innovation in the pursuit of a greener, more sustainable world.
Pavan Raj Gowda—a true Green Champ—continues to inspire and motivate, leaving an indelible mark on the environmental landscape and fostering a legacy of positive change.
Pavan also formulated a very thorough program for schools, called the Green Star School Awards Program. The uniqueness of this program is that it prepares students to go in the path of innovation using Environmental Science, Biomimicry, Green Chemistry, Project Management, and STEM(Science Technology Engineering Mathematics), while also incorporating leadership, team work, and collaboration.
When he was 12 years old, he published his second book, Geckoboy-The Battle of Fracking, which is the first children science fiction based on Biomimicry, in which he has also included science facts at the end, to help provide more details to the readers. He also write blogs for many other environmental organizations, as well as publish blogs on his organization’s blog sites.
As a global reporter, he has created environmental focused radio segments, which gets broadcasted in Australia. As a youth speaker, he has participated in various science events, conferences, school assemblies, classrooms, and delivered information about Biomimicry, Green Chemistry, and importance of Environmental Science, Plastics, Zero Waste, Climate Reality, and many other sustainability topics.
Pavan has proposed the 3 New R’s for our path forward, which are Rethink, Redesign, and Restore with environmental sustainability in the core of everything we do. He believes that these 3 new R’s will provide us with new vision and approaches to solve the challenges around us.
As a Climate Leader he is very focused on being part of the solution by building responsible innovators, and showing his generation that Innovation and Environmental Sustainability should not be considered separately. The solutions to our environmental issues have to be addressed at the source, and he strongly believes that science and technology solutions will be the only way to resolve these issues at the source.
He is a leader who likes to live by example, and works in collaboration to make a bigger impact.
To request Climate Leader, Pavan Raj Gowda for a presentation,
please send email to: info(at)greenkidsnow.org
Pavan Gowda’s LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/pavangowda
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS:
For Leadership and Environmental Stewardship:
2015 – Mentor for Climate Leaders
2014 – Climate Leader
2014 – Kohl’s Kids Who Cares Scholarship Program – Local winner
2013 – Helios Young ChangeMaker Award
2013 – John Muir Association’s Youth Environmental Education Conservation Award
2013 – “First Here, Then Everywhere” initiative founded by a Harvard student – Featured Youth Leader
2012 – Environmental Protection Agency’s President’s Environmental Youth Award
2012 – Recognition Certificate from the President of the United States
2012 – Action for Nature’s International Young Eco-Hero Award
2011 – School Broadcasting Network’s International Youth Award
2010 – Kohl’s Kids Who Cares Scholarship Program – Store-level winner
More Information on Awards and Recognitions:
NOVEMBER 2014 – CLIMATE REALITY LEADERSHIP CORPS – BRAZIL TRAINING COMPLETION:
2014 – Kohl’s Award – Local Winner:
2013 – HELIOS YOUNG CHANGEMAKER AWARD:
Pavan received the prestigious Helios Young ChangeMaker Award from Helios School, a private institution for gifted children located in Sunnyvale, California. This esteemed recognition was initiated by a fellow student, Kevin, a 10-year-old who nominated Pavan after learning about his impactful work. Kevin aptly referred to Pavan as a meta changemaker, acknowledging that Pavan has not only made a difference himself but has also inspired and created a ripple effect, shaping other young change-makers.
Here is Pavan’s “Thank You” note at this event:
Here’s the cut-out of Pavan made by Kevin:
2012 – PRESIDENT’S ENVIRONMENTAL YOUTH AWARD WINNER:
EPA Announcement: Fremont, Calif., Student Honored with President’s Environmental Youth Award EPA Press release on the day of award ceremony: U.S. Rep. Swalwell, EPA Regional Administrator Honor Fremont, Calif. Student with Presidential Award
Picture: Pavan with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Regional Administrator, Jared Blumenfeld and Congressman, California Rep. Eric Swalwell More Press Releases: Environmental-Expert.com: Read the Press Release online or in pdf format TriCity Voice Newspaper: April 23, 2013 issue. Front page photo teaser and article on page 11: http://www.tricityvoice.com/displayPages.php?issue=2013-04-23&page=1 http://www.tricityvoice.com/displayPages.php?issue=2013-04-23&page=11 ABC7News: Fremont boy wins prestigious national award Read online or in pdf format Argus/MercuryNews: Fremont teen wins green awards, on mission to help the environment: Read online or in pdf format
2013 – JOHN MUIR ASSOCIATION’S SPECIAL RECOGNITION: “YOUTH ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CONSERVATION AWARD”
Award ceremony was held on April 20th, 2013 on 175th John Muir’s Birthday / Earth Day celebration at John Muir Historical Park, Martinez, CA.
Picture: Picture: left to right: JoAnne Dunec (President, John Muir Association), Pavan Raj Gowda, Tom Leatherman (General Superintendent, Contra Costa County), and George Miller (Congressman)
Picture: Pavan Raj Gowda with Robert Hanna (great, great, grandson of John Muir)
RECOGNITION FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
ACTION FOR NATURE – 2012 INTERNATIONAL YOUNG ECO-HERO AWARD
SBN INTERNATIONAL YOUTH AWARD: (DECEMBER, 2011 – MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA)
*** Read the Media announcement ***
*** Listen to the announcement – mp3 file ***
Newspaper coverage:
Tri-City Voice Newspaper article published on December 27, 2011 issue on page 20 : http://www.tricityvoice.com/displayPages.php?issue=2011-12-27&page=20