Heart of Conservation

Buy The Stray Dogs of Landour Network: A True Story by a Failed Dog Trainer Book Online at Low Prices in India | The Stray Dogs of Landour Network: A True Story by a Failed Dog Trainer Reviews & Ratings - Amazon.in Happy Diwali. I’m Lalitha Krishnan, and you’re listening to Ep #40 of the Heart of Conservation podcast. I bring you stories from the wild that keep us all connected to our natural...

I'm speaking with Vikhar Ahmed, an experienced journalist at Frontline magazine (India). We discuss some of his conservation-based articles that reflect his love for history as well as his unique understanding of the complexities of researching and writing about wildlife and human-related stories honestly. There is so much about Karnataka's conservation history that most folks wouldn't...

In episode #38 I am speaking with Dipankar Ghose, Senior Director: Biodiversity Conservation at WWF-India, also Interim Head of TRAFFIC’s India Office. As a conservator with three decades in the field, he shares rare insights about the poaching of tigers to pangolins, to the exotic pet trade in India. Find out which technology is employed to fight the poaching of rhinos and how partner organisatio...

Hi I’m Lalitha Krishnan and you’re listening to #HeartofConservation. I bring you #storiesfromthewild that keep us all connected with the natural world. Experience the intersection of conservation and technology with Nandini Mehrotra from Technology for Wildlife Foundation, an NGO based out of Goa. Technology for Wildlife Foundation is the brainchild of Founder, #ShashankSrinivasan Discover how dr...

HI, I'm Lalitha Krishnan I bring you stories that connect us with the natural world. On Earth day especially, we can't ignore our reckless mis-mangement of waste. I’m speaking to two young, & amazing Clean Tech innovators, Rahul Nainani (Founder) and Gurashish Singh (Co-Founder & COO), at ReCircle, who converted bio-mining waste into a booming business. It’s not every day we hear o...

Hi, I’m speaking to the most passionate, naturalist/researcher/herpetologist-on-ground in the Andamans - Nariman Vazifdar. We discuss the biodiversity of the archipelago – which is mostly unexplored islands with individual unique species.  He speaks about the rainforest of the islands and he enlightens us about the hardwood Bullet wood tree and the Superior wood; and the historical connection invo...

I am speaking with two plant and tree lovers, basically tree experts with extraordinary insights, botanical facts, myths, history, current issues and personal stories relating to four florae of their choice. My guest Mallika Ravikumar is a lawyer-turned-writer. She writes about history, culture and nature has authored over six books mostly for children. Nishanth Srinivas is based out of Shillong,...

Show notes are now on earthymatters.blog In episode #33 I’m speaking to Dr Suresh Kumar, a remarkable wildlife biologist from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), who specializes in animal ecology, migration and movement studies, conservation biology. In his pursuit of wildlife conservation, he has discovered a new species of pheasant, studied macaques, used satellite telemetry to obverse the di...

The dugong is a Schedule 1 species in India, accorded the same protection as the Tiger but we barely know anything about it. My three amazing guests on episode#32 are researching Dugongs in three coastal pockets of India and doing a fantastic job as far as I can tell. I learnt a great deal about a mammal in my backyard which I was clueless about till now. Hope you enjoy listening to Prachi Sachchi...

Transcript coming soon on Earthy matters (my blog). Radhika wears multiple hats as a coastal geographer, geospatial analyst, National Geographic Explorer. She is a Research Fellow at the NUS Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions working with wetland conservation in Asia. She recently completed her PhD at the National University of Singapore. We discuss the world's largest delta in detail cover...

My guest is already famous for his visually enticing maps but he is not a cartographer by profession. I am speaking to one of India’s rising young, inspiring artist (NIFT) and author, Sudarshan Shaw whose keen sense of perception and belonging, passion for depicting, preserving local art, and love for natural history is tangible in his stunning artworks which goes way beyond creating maps. Thank y...

I speak with Ishita, a very brave and humble hero who happens to one of the pioneers of responsible tourism in a high himalayan desert called Spiti where she is the co-founder of Spiti-Ecosphere, a multi-award winning eco-tourism enterprise. Listen to what it takes to make toursim viable in a time when there were no proper roads to spiti (20 years ago to now) and how they face and overcome challen...

The transcript for this episode is available on my blog: EarthyMatters. My guest on this episode is passionate about True dung beetles so much so they were the topic of her PhD research. Three new species of dung beetles have been discovered and named by her. I’m speaking to Seena Narayanan, a Senior Research Associate & Assistant Museum Curator at ATREE. She has prepared species pages for the Sca...

In Part 2, I continue my conversation with Jayanthi Kallam, Executive Director of Avian and Reptile Rehabilitation Centre in Bangalore and part of her amazing team including Subeksha, Ranjana, Samiiha and Veerababu to find out what it takes to make a wildlife rehabilitation centre an efficient and successful one. Show notes for Part 1 & 2 are already up on my blog: Earthy Matters.

We may all have at some point in our lives have called an animal rescue centre. But how many of us know you know what goes after the animals is picked up? How many people does it take to look after an injured animal? What goes on behind the scenes? I’m speaking with the Executive Director of Avian and Reptile Rehabilitation Centre (ARRC), Jayanthi Kalam and the ARRC team in Bangalore to find out w...

It is not every day a yet-to-hatch cuttlefish looks straight at you through its thin egg membrane. The incredible photo ( on the podcast cover) is taken by Shaunak Modi. He tells us about his unique experiences on his journey of discovery as the co-founder of Coastal Conservation Foundation and a key member of the Marine Life of Mumbai. Listen to his amazing stories and find out how CCF in collabo...

Show notes coming soon. I am speaking with Rajani Mani is a documentary filmmaker with Elephant Corridor Films, a Bengaluru based creative agency. Currently, she is working on "Colonies in Conflict" a film that examines the state of wild bees in a fast-developing Indian landscape.

Hi there, Thanks for listening. You can read the show notes of this episode on my blog Earthy matters and check out extra links provided by my guest. I am speaking to Yuvan Aves, a naturalist, educator, activist, musician and author. One of India’s young influencers, Yuvan is currently documenting coastal stories, helping create tree laws, saving the biodiversity of sand dunes and water bodies apa...

Show notes coming soon with pics and links.:) Instagram Photo courtesy Ambika Yelanhanka. I am speaking to Ambika Yelahanka whose has a very enviable job involving lots of animals. Ambika’s has a Masters in Zoo Conservation and a specialization in feline behaviour and reptilian husbandry. She's the Assistant curator at Madras Crocodile Bank Trust in Chennai. Find out what a day at the Madras Croco...

As an ecologist, conservation researcher Vena Kapoor has worked on exploring if spiders can be used as natural pest control agents in the rainforest in Valparai in the Western Ghats. For a few years, she also managed the administrative and finance team in NCF's head office in Mysore. In 2010, Vena received Ravi Sankaran InlaksScholarship for the MPhil in Conservation Leadership at the University o...

I’m speaking to three amazing women who work for Nature Conservation Foundation. They manage and coordianate 3 programmes: Bird Count India, Early Bird and Nature Classrooms.

Episode #21 is about the Thano forest in in the Doon valley Uttarakhand- the state where I live. Thano has been in the news lately because the Uttarakhand government has sought the National Wildlife Board's approval to transfer 243 acres of forest land to the Airports Authority of India. They want to expand the local existing Jolly Grant airport into an international airport. Listen to the facts f...

In this last episode of Season Two of Heart of Conservation, I've put together the collective wisdom of 20+ people who were my guests so far. At the end of every episode, I ask my guests to share something that's significant to them - a word, an idea or their hopes. It's all here. Listen! Read the show notes earthymatters.blog. Season Three coming soon. Stay Safe. Keep Listening.

Truth be told, this is one of those interviews where I got more answers than I expected. As usual I learned a lot and am even more in awe of my guest William McKay Aitken (better known as Bill Aitken). He is a dear friend and hillside neighbour who I have long admired for his sense of adventure, his travel writing, his wit, and take on life.. Bill was born in Scotland, hitchhiked to India across E...

Nina Gupta is an ecologist who lives in Auroville (India)and works around the globe as an independent consultant integrating biodiversity conservation and sustainable development options. . She has published a colouring book for adults, the first in India, on Edible Weeds. She takes us through the where, how, which and why of urban foraging and shares her experience of foraging, the weed walks she...