Goan girl rewarded for role in protecting environment

The Wildlife Sanctuary Awards have unearthed the works of many people across the country. However, three citizens of Goa have bagged this award at the event in 2015. The award ceremony by Sanctuary Asia was held at the National Centre for Performing Arts, Mumbai on December 18, 2015.

The state has offered opportunities to crusaders for science conservation and environment protection over the past few years. Goa is proud to announce that it has won three awards in 2015, for conserving nature and wildlife.

Goans Claude Alvares, Norma Alvares and Nandini Velho dedicate their life towards the conservation of environment and wildlife. They were awarded the Wildlife Sanctuary Awards for their efforts.

Nandini Velho was the recipient of the wildlife service award. This was in recognition of her commitment to good science, wildlife conservation and local communities. After completing her MSc in wildlife Biology in 2008, Nandini dedicated her life to preserve nature. She is a wildlife field biologist, by profession. She also spends a lot of time with kids and youngsters introducing them to the environment.

Besides that, Nandini is also an active writer, as she writes for her online blog called 'Researchers for wildlife conservation'.

Speaking to Herald, Nandini voiced her opinion on the current status of Goa's conservation of environment. “I think Goa is an incredible place because of the different types of natural beauty that is packed into such a small state. This gives an incredible opportunity for common citizens to fight for this paradise and also this run-away type of capitalism,” she said.

Nandini was grateful to the recent Wildlife conservation Award presented to her. She said she will continue her work in conserving the environment and also try to make it a priority in her life. “I am happy and grateful to receive this award, because I got to meet some very inspiring people. My plans are to continue doing what I love and also to look out for new things that I love. The award is probably going to call for a double celebration. I will try and convince the park staff and my friends in the field for a combined celebration, since I finished my PhD around the same time that this happened. Of course life goes on and I'll be back to work,” she added.

As an environmentalist, Nandini is convinced the path is always difficult as there is a lot of work and research to be conducted, to break the records and barriers to explore the environment to the fullest.  “It’s a challenging field where you are essentially making your own path but I wouldn’t trade this life for anything else in the world,” she quipped.

Speaking to Herald on her inspiration towards nature and the environment and her interest in the field, she explained, “I didn’t really have a particular ‘moment’ that drew me to wildlife biology. Being born and brought up in a green paradise like Goa, I’ve been lucky to have a series of moments. From a fascinated child I simply wanted to stay an intrigued adult. 

“I completed my bachelors in Life Sciences from St Xavier’s College, Mumbai and it was my natural choice when I chose to do my Masters in Wildlife Biology and Conservation under the Wildlife Conservation Society-India Programme and National Centre for Biological Sciences. I just completed my PhD in tropical ecology with the Distinguished Research Professor William Laurence from James Cook University Australia,” Nandini added.

She also addressed her feelings towards writing for her blog about the environment, where she also exhibits all her campaigns and projects of her research. She said, “I've also tried to use my time spent on field to try and create bridges with a wider set of people, writing helps me do just that. And the inspiration is that I've met some remarkable individuals who are already doing wonderful work at these many levels.”

Nandini also expressed her views on Goa in the future, saying, “The despair can be overwhelming, but the hope is for a larger vision of where we see Goa going and more importantly working towards it.”

On being requested for suggestions to youngsters on environment, Nandini compared her life as a student that introduced her to the environment, to the schools now-a-days. She said, “I consider myself lucky. I have a super supportive and outdoor family. Secondly, I went to a remarkable school. My school was run by this educationist Nisha Da Cunha. It had no affiliation when we were studying as we were just starting out. I was in the first batch to have passed out. Later on, after we passed out, the school got affiliated to the Goa board. I was really lucky to go to this school which was called Shiksha Niketan.

“Every year, our school would move to a different house. It was a superb school. They taught us all kinds of stuff - from swimming (till you could cross the Mandovi river), hiking every Friday to planting crops with farmers. I was a no-bencher most of the time, enjoyed going to places, playing sports and exploring good food places. I wish that this school was not an exception, but our education system engendered this sort of learning to each and every kid in India,” she ended.