Bengaluru, Nov 26: At just 17, Aashni Subramanian is fast becoming one of India’s most compelling youth champions for marine conservation. A Grade 12 student at Canadian International School, Bengaluru, and the founder of the Marine Conservation Coalition of Karnataka (MCCK), Aashni is using grassroots education, research, and multimedia storytelling to inspire the next generation to protect India’s fragile marine ecosystems.

Her passion traces back to when she was seven years old, after watching a documentary on overfishing that changed the way she viewed the world. Since then, she has immersed herself in marine studies, interning with Namma Bengaluru Aquarium, publishing children’s environmental stories with KoKoverse, and most recently, producing a documentary titled “Beyond the Catch.”

Filmed in the Andaman Islands, where her mother grew up, Beyond the Catch explores the region’s disappearing species, shifting coastlines, and the complex relationship between local communities and the sea. Through conversations with fishermen, policymakers, conservationists, and authorities, the film offers a rare youth-led perspective on the future of India’s ocean ecosystems.

To bring these insights to younger audiences, Aashni recently led “Trash to Treasure,” a creative learning programme hosted at the Namma Bengaluru Aquarium for children aged 8 to 14. While the session itself served as an engaging platform, the larger story is Aashni’s growing movement, one that blends science with art, play with purpose, and awareness with action.

During the session, children watched Beyond the Catch and discussed real-world challenges impacting coastal Karnataka and the Andamans. They then transformed everyday discarded materials into marine-themed artwork, experiencing firsthand how small behavioural shifts can contribute to larger environmental change.

“A lot of young people don’t realise how much power they already hold,” Aashni said. “When they can turn waste into something meaningful, when they see the ocean through stories and real voices, something shifts. They understand they can be part of the solution.”

Aashni is rapidly becoming a youth leader to watch, bringing informed, empathetic, and solution-driven conversations on marine conservation to the forefront.