Nithya Tammana
2026 Eco-Hero
DR. MARY GRIFFIN-JONES SPECIAL AWARD
Nithya Tammana
Age 11
Monroe Township, New Jersey, USA
Save Drop: Youth Leadership and Innovation for Water Sustainability
At just 11 years old, Nithya Tammana is a formidable force in global water conservation, combining engineering curiosity, grassroots mobilization, and policy advocacy to protect water as a vital public resource. Her journey began at age nine with a simple observation in her own home: the immense amount of clean, fully treated drinking water wasted down the drain while waiting for shower water to heat up. Refusing to ignore this systemic issue, Nithya launched "Save Drop" in February 2024 to turn a forgotten daily household habit into a youth-led environmental movement.
Through Save Drop, Nithya addresses water scarcity through three distinct, highly impactful pillars: infrastructure awareness, grassroots campaigns, and eco-innovation. To tackle shower-wait waste, she champions the widespread adoption of hot water recirculation systems, which redirect cold water instead of letting it slip away. Recognizing that systemic change requires policy backing, she launched a petition to mandate these water-saving pumps in new housing developments and personally wrote advocacy letters to all 50 U.S. governors.
Nithya’s impact extends deep into the community through her self-conceived #ServeHalfGlass campaign, which addresses food service waste by persuading restaurants to serve half-filled water glasses first and refill only upon request. Her outreach has already converted local New Jersey establishments and holds the potential to save up to two billion gallons of water annually across the United States. Furthermore, Nithya is a passionate inventor; she developed "BioLayer," a nature-inspired, plastic-free water filter using living Sphagnum moss that removes up to 95% of lead from school drinking water for under $38. She has made this design completely open-source, allowing schools anywhere in the world to access it freely.
Nithya’s ability to communicate complex infrastructure challenges simply and persuasively has allowed her to build an astonishing network of young changemakers. She mentors and runs weekly environmental leadership sessions for a growing coalition of over 450 "Water Warriors" and has helped students launch more than 100 local conservation clubs. To date, her educational campaigns, multimedia videos, and high-profile media appearances have reached an estimated one million people globally. Her leadership has earned her a TEDx stage, the New Jersey Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award, and the distinction of being the youngest-ever delegate in the 70-year history of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Most recently, Nithya was named the national winner of the prestigious Mott Million Dollar Challenge, one of the nation’s premier youth entrepreneurship competitions, emerging victorious at the live finals in Flint, Michigan, after competing against over 5,300 submissions from across the United States.
Her former elementary school principal, Nicole Cirillo, notes that Nithya possesses a rare, self-directed purpose, explaining that she did not need a teacher to assign her a project or an adult to suggest a cause. Instead, she noticed a problem, conducted her own research, and actively built a solution. Driven by a deep commitment to environmental justice, Nithya continues to expand Save Drop globally while aspiring to a future career that bridges environmental engineering and pediatric ophthalmology.
"When I realized how much infrastructure, public investment, and energy goes into treating the water that reaches our homes, I knew we had a responsibility to protect it. I want young people to know that environmental protection is connected to fairness, and that clean water belongs to everyone. When we stay consistent and speak clearly, our age doesn't limit our impact—any one of us can change the system."
savedrop.org
instagram.com/savedrop2024
instagram.com/nithyatammana
facebook.com/savedrop2024
