Responsible Ecotourism at Hesaraghatta Grasslands
Hesaraghatta is more than a landscape on the outskirts of Bengaluru. It is a living ecological system—an open grassland, a lake ecosystem, and a refuge for an extraordinary diversity of life. With the Greater Hesaraghatta Grassland Conservation Reserve now recognised for its ecological importance, there is a growing need to connect conservation with the communities who live closest to this landscape. Responsible Ecotourism at Hesaraghatta Grasslands was initiated with this vision: to equip young people from surrounding communities with the knowledge, skills, confidence, and professional opportunities to become certified nature guides and conservation ambassadors. Why Hesaraghatta? Hesaraghatta represents one of Bengaluru’s last remaining large open-grassland landscapes. Its importance...
Roaring Ahead: Palamau’s New Generation of Nature Guides Takes Flight
The Naturalist School, in collaboration with Palamau Tiger Reserve, successfully conducted a 5-day Eco Guide Skill Building Course from 5th to 9th August 2026, empowering local communities to become active stewards of their forest home. A New Chapter for Community-Led Conservation in Palamau A dedicated batch of 30 participants — comprising tribal youth, women, and other community members — came together to learn the ropes of nature guiding. The course culminated in a valedictory ceremony held on World Tribal Day, 9th August, symbolically tying the program to the broader celebration of indigenous knowledge and rights. Recognition from Leadership The event was graced by MLA Shri Ramchandra Singh and...
Where I Come From Was Always Enough
The story of Vivo, a Nature Guide from Khonoma, Nagaland, who learned to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, and returned home with a new way of understanding where he came from. In the hill village of Khonoma, Nagaland, surrounded by forests, medicinal plants, and ancestral knowledge, Vivo grew up without realising just how rich his home was. Forests were for foraging, snakes were to be avoided, and caterpillars were just pests. It wasnʼt until his elder brother told Vivo about a government-sponsored opportunity through the Skill Development initiative by the Government of Nagaland, that things began to shift. Fresh out of a masterʼs degree in...
A Part of the Whole, and the Whole in Every Part
The story of Chandrashekar Koira, a Nature Guide with a childlike curiosity for learning from the land. In a quiet village at the foothills of Nandi Hills, where mist settles over the trees and birds greet the morning, Chandrashekar Koira grew up feeling deeply at home in nature. For him, the forest wasn’t an escape. It was his habitat. But over time, even the places that raised us begin to change. Koira Lake in his village is a subjoin of the Arkavathi River catchment It feeds into the veins of south Indiaʼs water network, eventually joining the Kaveri, one of the regionʼs lifelines. What was once...
