Starting from this observation, a group of high school students founded EcoPsych, a non-profit organization with the mission of changing the environment through the power of psychology.
Starting from two dreams
EcoPsych's journey began with the convergence of ideas between two young people with two different dreams: Sadhika Kapoor, an international student at the Australian International School in Ho Chi Minh City, who wishes to become a psychologist, and Hoang Minh Nghia, a classmate who harbors the dream of becoming an environmental scientist.
In November 2024, the group participated in the ReThink Plastic Challenge in HCMC and won a prize of VND10 million. This motivated the two friends to pursue their environmental project more seriously and expand it to schools worldwide.
"I am from India but have lived in Vietnam for about seven years, so I feel great that I can contribute to my current community. EcoPsych was originally just a small project for Nghia and me to satisfy our passion for psychology and environmental science. However, now I aim to turn it into a non-profit organization after college. Our goal is to use psychology to solve global problems," Sadhika shared.
Minh Nghia, a young man who has lived in Vietnam and Germany, recognized early on the importance of sustainable development in Europe. This inspired him to find ways to make people in Vietnam more environmentally responsible. "I have participated in many projects, but EcoPsych's approach is truly fresh and innovative. I have a strong belief in EcoPsych and the future success of the project," Nghia shared.
Sadhika and Minh Nghia added that EcoPsych's operations are fundamentally about addressing three core human traits from evolutionary psychology: people can be lazy, selfish, and only care about short-term benefits. Therefore, EcoPsych chose a different path, focusing on small changes that have a big impact and are inexpensive but create a profound shift in awareness. Examples include placing a bin for single-sided used paper next to the school printer in case someone makes a printing mistake so the paper can still be reused; encouraging teachers to use natural daylight in classrooms instead of ceiling lights for morning lessons; placing signs near sinks in restrooms to raise awareness about water waste, helping you instantly realize the amount of water you are using; organizing school events that do not use plastic decorations; minimizing packaged food served in the canteen; and holding plastic recycling workshops in parallel with parent-teacher meetings.
A campus project reaches international heights
In 2025, the IB Global Youth Action Fund competition was organized, attracting thousands of students worldwide. Recognizing that this was not just a competition but an opportunity for social projects to be nurtured and receive funding, Sadhika Kapoor and Minh Nghia brought their passionate project to participate.
Surpassing over 1,100 applications and thousands of creative ideas through many challenging rounds, EcoPsych officially won first place thanks to its unique approach - protecting the environment with psychology. Minh Nghia confided, "The award brought us a grant of $1,000 and an 8-month mentorship program from the IB's team of experts. We see this victory not as a destination but as a stepping stone to continue expanding the project to more schools around the world, so that everyone can join hands to create a greener, cleaner planet."
Starting from the original two members and contained within the campus of the Australian International School in HCMC, EcoPsych has made a proud breakthrough. Currently, the project has a formidable team of over 30 students from many countries, such as India, South Korea, the Netherlands, Germany, Thailand, and Trinidad & Tobago. The project's scope has also expanded to nine schools in four different countries, namely Vietnam, China, India, and Thailand.
Sadhika shared about the dedicated journey of expanding the project, "We started by asking friends to introduce the project to students who shared our passion. Then, we proactively reached out via social media, inviting them to a 30-minute introductory meeting. After the meeting, our executive team would seek permission from the school's principal to officially implement the project at the new school, and those students would officially join our team of student ambassadors. We are very proud that to this day, all our proposals have been accepted. That's why we are still growing steadily every day."
Despite being in their final year of high school, the team members still manage to dedicate a certain amount of time to the project. Nguyen Bao Tram - a student at the Saigon Australian International School and the head of EcoPsych's design team - said that she always proactively messages to keep track of her teammates' progress, from their work to design ideas for EcoPsych.
"I love being busy. I believe every day is an opportunity to grow and use all 24 hours to the fullest. For me, participating in extracurricular projects is not only a joy but also a great opportunity to learn from my peers," Tram said.
