Iesha and Shannon's Story

At just 14 years old, Iesha and Shannon of Putteridge High School saw their community detached from meaningful environmental action. They felt a gap: younger and older generations cared about climate change but didn’t know how to get started or stay engaged. This shared frustration became the catalyst for their Apps for Good project, EcoMingle.

They wanted EcoMingle to feel less like a lecture and more like a rewarding journey complete with games, a mascot, and community-based volunteering. Iesha and Shannon wanted to reach beyond those already on board with climate action, so aimed to onboard "non-activists" — those who care but don’t yet know where to begin. Their solution? A user-friendly app bridging the divide between awareness and action.

During our 2024 Showcase, Iesha and Shannon presented their app created during the Innovate for Climate Change course, capturing the admiration of volunteer judges from OVO Foundation.

The girls admit to being not too interested in computing and coding before Apps for Good, but subsequently developed new skills - not just in coding, but presenting and public speaking. They subsequently presented at three events with Apps for Good, including appearing on stage to host a panel discussion at the prestigious BETT Global education show in London.

Iesha said, “Apps for Good made me change the GCSEs I picked. I wasn't planning to do IT but now I've got it in my three options. So I think it's definitely changed GCSEs, possibly A-Levels…”