9-year-old Bengaluru boy ‘pens’ award-winning innovation

  • | Thursday | 23rd January, 2020

Sharanavya S Shrish has created a wooden pen, for which the outer body has been made of clay and pencil shavings. The first step to making the pen involved making the outer body with clay, glue and pencil shavings. “I made a pencil shavings collection box and installed it in the Grade 1 class in my school. Research showed him that pencil shavings, which are wooden chips, can also be used for mulching plants. He then made wood mulch with the pencil shavings he collected from the school.

Lesly Joseph By Express News Service BENGALURU: Everyone has heard about Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who is travelling worldwide to raise awareness about climate change and environmental conservation. But closer home, this nine-year-old is also trying his best to do good for the planet by trying to promote plastic-free living and waste recycling. How, you ask? Sharanavya S Shrish has created a wooden pen, for which the outer body has been made of clay and pencil shavings. The young lad received recognition for his invention and won the youngest maker award at Avishkar National Makethon in December. He also presented his idea at the Children’s Climate Conference, New Delhi, on January 12. The idea came to him some months ago, when he noticed that in his classroom alone, there were many plastic pencil sharpeners being used. “We also generate so many pencil shavings as waste. Considering many more schools, the numbers just increase. I wanted to promote less plastic use and more waste recycling,” says the Rajajinagar resident, who then shared the idea with his parents and teachers. The first step to making the pen involved making the outer body with clay, glue and pencil shavings. But that was just beginning. “I made a pencil shavings collection box and installed it in the Grade 1 class in my school. If we install these boxes, which have in-built steel pencil sharpeners, we can reduce the use of plastic cutters and save pencil shavings,” the Class 4 student of TRIO World School says. Research showed him that pencil shavings, which are wooden chips, can also be used for mulching plants. He then made wood mulch with the pencil shavings he collected from the school. Sharanavya’s parents, teachers and judges were initially amused by his ideas. “He comes to us with different ideas. We try to help him as much as we can. Sometimes, I don’t know much about the things he talks about but I like to see him create new things,” says Shantanu, Sharanavya’s father, who is a management professional. A boy of many interests, the youngster also enjoys martial arts and playing the guitar, but is focusing on making his products more attractive and feasible by using paper straws and origami paper. But do these projects affect his academics? He replies, “If I can do this, I can definitely study well.”

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