High School Senior Makes Her Community Greener with Home-Grown Organization Carbon Roots

By:  | October 2, 2025 |  |  Holmdel

By Rebecca King

What was once a pile of woodchips and soil at Jackson Woods Park in Long Branch is now an ecologically productive garden, gulping up about 7 pounds of carbon dioxide every year — all thanks to one determined high schooler.

Shivali Sethi, a Holmdel resident and senior at High Technology High School in Lincroft, is the founder and Youth Programs Director of Carbon Roots, an initiative dedicated to creating carbon gardens throughout Monmouth County to promote carbon sequestration and climate awareness. The group focuses on transforming underutilized land, like the patch of soil in Jackson Woods Park, into biodiverse gardens that are both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally beneficial.

“This is a unique way to prevent climate change while making sure we still have green space,” said Sethi. “Jackson Woods Park had a lot of empty space that wasn’t being used for anything.”

Sethi and a group of volunteers planted 149 native plants of eight different species last summer at the flagship Jackson Woods Park garden. All the plants were carefully selected by Sethi for their ability to absorb carbon, including seaside goldenrod, milkweed, eastern bluestar and bottlebrush grass.

"It was a pleasure working with Shivali and her Carbon Roots team. Shivali's carbon sink garden concept was a natural fit with our vision of Jackson Woods as a community park focused on nature, education and the arts, and we immediately jumped at the opportunity to partner,” said Nan Simon, a member of Friends of Jackson Woods.

Carbon gardens, also known as carbon sinks, are ecological areas that absorb and store more carbon than they emit, reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Carbon is one of the greenhouse gases responsible for warming the planet, and planting carbon gardens is one way environmental groups are naturally fighting climate change.

According to Sethi, carbon gardens can also help reduce local temperatures and are playgrounds for pollinators and local wildlife.

Rooted in Change

Carbon Roots began as Sethi’s sophomore research project at High Technology High School and has flourished into a fully-fledged community-based initiative, with gardens in the works in several towns.

Her passion for environmental science was sparked by a research project that had her looking into the impact of microplastics on basil. And after learning more about climate change in school, she started to take notice of green areas that could be better utilized around her hometown of Holmdel.

“I would say my town is pretty green, but I started to notice more and more home development. There was a big loss of green space,” she said.

She researched ways to increase local green space while combating climate change. Once she narrowed down her idea to create carbon gardens, she began searching for plants native to New Jersey that are particularly efficient at storing carbon. Sethi also reached out to professors across the East Coast to get their feedback on which plants would best serve her purpose.

Sethi worked with her school to find her first batch of volunteers and contacted environmental commissions in nearby towns to identify areas in need of revamped green areas. Neighbors helped with fundraising, and she reached out to other local schools to get their participation. With the knowledge, money, volunteers, and space to get started, Sethi’s school project took off.

Growing Strong

Carbon Roots is working on a new carbon garden in Holmdel’s Tranquil Teachings Learning Center, this time maximizing carbon sequestration in a suburban area. The native plants for this project — including mint, purple coneflower and goldenrod — are all low-maintenance, aesthetically pleasing, and do a great job of absorbing carbon, according to Sethi. Another collaboration with the Elizabeth Street Community Garden in Keyport is underway, as well, to incorporate carbon-sequestering plants into its space.

Carbon Roots is also working with the Hazlet Township Carbon Initiative and aims to create a carbon sink that utilizes trees as well as native plants to encourage biodiversity and mitigate urban heat. Sethi hopes to plant about 17 different native plants and trees in a 120-square-foot area, which will absorb around 9.5 pounds of carbon every year.

All of these gardens, Sethi notes, require maintenance, and she’s always seeking volunteers to keep the organization’s gardens weed-free and flourishing. And, of course, Sethi has her eyes set on college, where she hopes to study environmental science and economics.

“It’s my goal to pass on the organization and its mission to someone younger than me,” she said of Carbon Root’s future once she’s onto her next big adventure.

Get Involved

Anyone interested in getting involved with Carbon Roots’ efforts can fill out a volunteer form on its website. As winter approaches and the gardens become dormant for the winter, Sethi encourages folks to contribute to Carbon Roots’ blog, which details different ways to reduce greenhouse gases and other planet-friendly tips.

Go to co2roots.org for more information.

SIDEBAR: How to Make Your Own Carbon Garden

Anything from tiny patches of dirt to thriving backyard gardens have the potential to become carbon sinks.

“Any amount of space can be used to make a carbon garden,” said Sethi.

Sethi recommends planting only native species, which she says are best for the environment. Reach for plants with deep roots that are known to sequester more carbon. Recommended native New Jersey plants include trees such as yellow poplar, silver maple, red oak, white oak, white pine, willow oak, red mulberry and black walnut; and plants like switchgrass, indiangrass, little bluestem, sunflowers, black-eyed susans, milkweed, bergamot, NJ tea, blue wild indigo, purple cornflower, desert false indigo, silky dogwood, wild senna, goldenrod and northern bayberry.

Another aspect of your garden to pay special attention to is the soil.

“People don’t realize that soil actually absorbs a lot of carbon,” said Sethi. Use natural and organic fertilizers, she suggests, and avoid harsh chemicals and pesticides to maintain healthy soil.

Interested in learning more? Carbon Roots offers a guidebook to help curious New Jerseyans create their own carbon gardens. Go to co2roots.org/general-clean#download for your guidebook today.