Sanctuary's Young Naturalists 2017 - Jyoti Sharma, Vaishali Rawat and Nikit Surve

Just thirteen-years-old JYOTI SHARMA has already broken barriers and set new horizons for young girls and boys in remote villages of rural Rajasthan. Don’t be fooled by the dimunitive size of this spunky eighth-grade student from the JSM Public School, Sawai Madhopur. Her deep understanding and knowledge of Ranthambore’s flora and fauna would give most naturalists a run for their money. Mentored down the years by Goverdhan Meena, one of Ranthambhore’s most respected village conservationists, she already leads forest trails for students and teachers from several other schools around Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. A budding playwright, she is one of Sanctuary’s youngest-ever Young Naturalists of the Year who has won accolades for her oratory and conservation-writing skills.

VAISHALI RAWAT has studied carnivores in the fragile Kanha-Pench Landscape, learned the basics of animal-handling at the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and has braved the searing temperatures of the Thar Desert while surveying grasslands to protect endangered Great Indian Bustards. Working with the Wildlife Conservation Society, India, she wants to communicate conservation issues to the masses by telling them stories using still images and moving words. Armed with a critical mind and a sharp pen, she engages with scientists, forest guards and communities to absorb, digest and then communicate diverse perspectives. She is determined now to fix the under-representation of environmental issues in India’s development discourse and mainstream media.

NIKIT SURVE is not your average city slicker. He studied zoology and botany at St. Xaviers College, Mumbai.. Currently working on his Masters with the Wildlife Institute of India he works for Dr. Vidya Athreya and ‘Mumbaikars for SGNP’ on interactions between leopards and humans in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Using camera-traps and collecting DNA tests on scats he worked on leopard-prey densities and on carnivore behaviour. He also helps communities living cheek by jowl with carnivores to understand them better and stay safe. At 25, Nikit has already been recognised as one of India’s finest field biologists.. But, ever humble, in his own words he says: “All I want is for my friends and young people to get involved in healing our wounded planet”