MEGA Foundation — Make Earth Green Again
An environmental-restoration and youth-mobilisation initiative working to reverse ecological damage across India, from mass afforestation to disaster relief.
Context
MEGA — Make Earth Green Again — was founded by journalist, writer and TEDx speaker Anusha Srinivasan Iyer together with Nimal Raghavan, a former IT professional who left his career to pursue ecological restoration after Cyclone Gaja in 2018, and co-founder Vedant.
Its flagship campaigns, #deltasaplingchallenge and #bouncebackdelta, have distributed more than 100,000 saplings to farmers in the Cauvery Delta region, rehabilitated close to 100 villages, desilted lakes and planted over 400,000 saplings. Urban afforestation using the Miyawaki technique has added more than 500,000 native trees, starting in Bengaluru with expansion planned to Mumbai, Delhi and Rajasthan.
MEGA's work extends to educational support in Thanjavur and Pudukkottai, animal rescue through Pawsitive Farm Sanctuary, single-use-plastic awareness, and welfare support for acid-attack survivors, senior citizens, the LGBTQ+ community and street children. The foundation has received more than 68 awards, including the Life's Real Heroes Award (2019), the Economic Times Icon Award and the Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation Award.
Objectives
- Over 100,000 saplings distributed to farmers in the Cauvery Delta region
- More than 500,000 native trees planted using the Miyawaki technique
- Close to 100 villages rehabilitated and lakes desilted after Cyclone Gaja
- 68+ awards, including the Economic Times Icon Award and the Life's Real Heroes Award