2 Parsippany Students Honored With NJ Environmental Award

PARSIPPANY, NJ — Two Parsippany Hills High School students are among the winners of the 24th annual Governor's Environmental Excellence Awards.

Anika and Divya Arora, known for working on a grassroots “Meatless Mondays” campaign in 2020 to raise awareness of the adverse effects of meat consumption on the climate, won in the category of Environmental Education (Student-Led).

The Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards are awarded annually to individuals and organizations that demonstrate commitment and leadership on a variety of environmental issues, including environmental justice, climate change, sustainability and education.

This year, the awards ceremony was held at the Historic Masonic Temple in Trenton.

“The achievements of this year’s award winners capture the essence of environmentalism in New Jersey and set a shining example for us all to follow,” said Commissioner of Environmental Protection Shawn M. LaTourette.

Both Anika and Divya have spent the last few years doing presentations about climate change at the town library to the local Environmental Advisory Committee, school principals, the superintendent of schools and the town council.

In addition, they have attended the Columbia Climate School Eco-Ambassador programs, CCS K–12 Live Classes and are certified in climate change leadership.

Since working on their Meatless Mondays campaign, Anika and Divya have also started simply-green.org, a foundation dedicated to rallying youth to reverse climate change.

This summer, the duo conducted a climate science workshop, where they educated students in grades 2-5 about the causes and impacts of climate change, as well as how they may affect change. They created presentations, a guidebook, experiments and art.

Since 2000, the Governor's Environmental Excellence Awards have been New Jersey's top environmental awards program. The initiative is sponsored by the Department of Environmental Protection, the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank, and the New Jersey Corporation for Advanced Technology.

The nominations were assessed and scored by a team of judges based on factors such as documented environmental benefits, contributions to addressing the state's environmental needs, replicability by others, leadership and creativity, and education and outreach.

“It’s an honor to celebrate their determined efforts to protect the state’s natural resources and help others connect to nature,” LaTourette said.