The Naturalist School

The Naturalist School is bridging the divide with access to skill development, vocational education, capacity building & accreditation. Tribal youth, Village dwellers, and  Communities around the  Forest/Buffer Zone now have access to livelihoods as Nature Guides, Naturalists, and Ecopreneurs. Over the past 2 years, we have offered learning opportunities to multiple stakeholders: locals whose livelihoods are dependent on ecotourism, visitors engaged in travel to protected areas (PA), employers who are facing a shortage of skilled staff, PA managers who are trying to spread awareness on conservation. 

The booming business of safaris and ecotourism leaves people living just outside the fence struggling to meet basic needs. Tribal & Buffer zone communities living on the fringes of Protected Areas (PA) are even today largely dependent on forest-based produce and lack the job-ready skills to benefit from rich pickings on the ecotourism circuit. Traditional and Tribal knowledge is currently unable to make the leap to safari jeeps laden with camera-toting tourists from luxury lodges. 

With three main interlinked issues that humanity currently faces: climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss the ‘triple planetary crisis’ is a reality that can no longer be postponed. However, for the common man in our country, these planetary challenges do not seem to hold the relevance that is so critically needed. And this is exactly where a Nature Guide/Naturalist comes in - as a local change agent, a catalyst, a storyteller, a nature educator, a climate warrior, a biodiversity evangelist & much more