Meet Alumni:

Anisha Dhoot

2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge Finalist
2026 Alumni Grant Recipient

Anisha was awarded the Science in Your Community Grant for her work on “EcoRoots,” a youth-led initiative that expands early access to climate and STEM education while strengthening food security through hands-on workshops, community action, and environmental education.

About their Project

EcoRoots is a youth-led initiative dedicated to educating and empowering youth to tackle climate change, food insecurity, and creating positive environmental impact through action, awareness, and education. EcoRoots started small with me visiting local elementary schools and leading hands-on workshops to make climate science feel real and accessible — such as interactive experiments to explain carbon cycles and sustainable farming. Since those early days, EcoRoots has grown to reach over 1,800 active engagements through workshops and social media outreach, with social media views over 10,000. We’ve also connected our work to improve food security by organizing donations to the Oregon Food Bank.

Now, the biggest limiting factor for future growth of EcoRoots is access to materials. The 3M Alumni Grant would allow me to bring EcoRoots to a lot more local area schools, reach hundreds more students, and make each workshop much more engaging and meaningful.

EcoRoots isn’t just about teaching science — it’s about inspiring students and motivating them to become part of the solution from a young age. EcoRoots official website: https://sites.google.com/view/official-ecoroots/home

What was the inspiration behind your project?

I started EcoRoots after realizing that major global issues such as global warming, plastic pollution, and food insecurity, which are so critical for the future of our planet, are not discussed very much in the K-12 school curriculum. I believe that education is one of the most powerful ways to create change, and that young people should have the opportunity to learn about these challenges early on. My own personal STEM journey started in 5th grade with a simple curiosity about the phenomenon of global warming. As today’s youth will be responsible for shaping the future, I wanted to create a platform that makes these topics much more accessible, engaging, and empowering for students.