From a Class to a Province-Wide Movement

2025Climate Change & Environment
Written By Rigsar Wangchuk

Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam | From a Class to a Province-Wide Movement - SHIFT Thanh Hoa | 2025

 

Xin chao!

We are SHIFT Thanh Hoa, a group of 25 high school students turning plastic waste into purpose across Thanh Hoa Province. In 2025, we launched three connected campaigns to tackle the growing problem of domestic waste in our school zones. Starting with "One Class, One Action" at Hong Duc Inter-levels School, we expanded through the "Generation Hope Competition" and scaled to three high schools through our "Green Future" club. Our mission? To prove that when students lead, trash becomes treasure and one school's action can spark a province-wide shift.

 

The Right-Sized Problem

Schools across Thanh Hoa Province are overwhelmed by daily domestic waste, particularly single-use plastics. Students have limited awareness of waste separation and recycling, and school grounds lack the infrastructure to manage waste sustainably. Without hands-on, student-led solutions, the problem grows while young people miss the chance to learn that climate action starts right where they are.

 

What We Did

Across three campaigns running from June to November 2025, we combined inter-class competitions, creative recycling, and digital advocacy to transform school spaces and student mindsets.

Offline Impact

  • "One Class, One Action" Inter-Class Competition: Classes at Hong Duc school competed to create environmental initiatives from recycled waste, producing 10 distinct projects that formed a vibrant Green Corner at the school entrance

  • Vertical Plastic Bottle Garden: Hundreds of single-use bottles were repurposed into hanging planters filled with local flora, creating a greenery installation that improves air quality and beautifies the school entrance

  • Climate Adaptation Mural: Volunteers designed and painted a large-scale awareness wall at the school entrance as a permanent visual reminder of climate action

  • "Plarn" Sleeping Mat Workshop: Students collected plastic bags and crocheted them into "plarn" (plastic yarn) sleeping mats for donation to local shelters

  • "Great Swap Shop": A physical event where students traded plastic lunch bags for reusable beeswax wraps and silicon pouches, and swapped half-used notebooks and plastic-free stationery

  • "Refill Streak" Challenge: Students mapped water sources around schools, and for every 50 social media tags of refilling reusable bottles, a local eco-shop donated toward a new filling station

  • Green Future Expansion (Nhu Thanh Commune): Scaled the competition model to three high schools, providing each with waste-classification bins and flexible roofing to establish communication green corners for ongoing climate awareness activities

 
 

Online & Media Impact

  • Launched a TikTok channel with creative content raising climate change awareness, including the #PulseUnboxed series where students filmed 15-second "zero-waste kit" unboxing videos using trending audio

  • QR codes placed on cafeteria tables linked to a real-time "Pulse Map" showing how many plastic bottles were being saved each hour

  • "Digital Leaderboard" tracked classes logging their "Plastic-Free Days," with the highest-scoring class winning prizes

  • Launched a podcast episode interviewing a local environmental scientist about the "invisible" plastic crisis and microplastics

  • Partnered with local cafes for a "Student Refill" discount promoted through local media

  • Featured in the Thanh Hoa Provincial Youth Union newsletter

  • The #PulseUnboxed hashtag reached 1,000 views in two weeks, attracting interest from students at neighboring schools

Campaign Impact

  • 1 Green Corner established at Hong Duc school featuring 10 student-led environmental initiatives, with green corners expanding to 3 additional schools in Nhu Thanh commune

  • 25 core volunteers mobilized across all three campaigns

  • Partnership formed with the local Environmental Urban Company for ongoing waste processing

  • Contributed to the international Generation Hope Goals initiative alongside UN agencies and international NGOs

  • Previously disengaged students discovered new leadership skills, from project management and public speaking to creative design and digital content creation

  • School entrance spaces physically transformed from neglected areas into functional, educational green zones that students interact with daily

A standout moment came from Lan, a 16-year-old who initially believed climate change was too big for a student in Thanh Hoa to influence. After struggling to get classmates to separate recyclables, she invented a "Waste-Sorting Game" that turned the process into a timed challenge. By the campaign's end, Lan was leading the construction team and confidently explaining climate adaptation science to provincial delegates at the Green Corner's grand opening.

Diệp, a student at Lạm Sơn Specialised High School, entered the Provincial Youth Innovation Competition with a machine her team designed to turn non-recyclable plastic bags into durable paving bricks. The judges praised its environmental impact but awarded first place to a less innovative, more visually polished concept. Diệp compiled a detailed, evidence-based appeal drawing directly on data she had learned through the campaign's training. The judges reviewed the scoring criteria, overturned the decision, and Diệp's team took first place: proof that the campaign had not just built environmental awareness, but young people with the conviction and tools to fight for it.

Follow our journey:
TikTok:SHIFT Thanh Hoa

 

This story was lovingly curated by the SHIFT team with the help of Claude (Anthropic) based on submitted source materials from our Fun Adults and Shifters.

Rigsar Wangchuk
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