People – Vanamali

Core Team

Usha Srinivsan

Trustee

Usha Srinivasan considers herself blessed to have been born in the “Divyashetram” Srivilliputtur (Tamil Nadu) in the lap of nature and her grandparents, homschooled till the age of 7, she later completed B. Sc. (Hons.), Delhi University B.Ed, M.Ed. M. Phil in education, Fine arts and history of Indian art and architecture. She started and ran Astronomy and Environment clubs in Delhi schools since 1985, both of which are her passion. Usha ji is the Founding member of The Civil Services Society and Sanskriti School, Delhi. As senior advisor, Environment at Development Alternatives, she ran and coordinated the Nation- wide programme CLEAN India (Community Led Environment Action Network).

Member of IUCN (International union for nature Conservancy), ZERI (zero emission research initiatives) and Earth Charter. Usha Srinivasan authored and contributed (Hello stars and Astronomy for beginners, science and environment science text books for middle schools and teachers manuals)

Awards: National science talent scholarship, National award for innovative science teaching, Best teacher, Manthan award are just a few. Her zest for life is evident not just by the twinkle in her eyes and her contagious laugh as she shares her innumerable experiences but that her never say die spirit to the opportunities thrown at her as she continues to this day volunteering as a guide in the National Museum, New Delhi.

Mohit Saini

Trustee

Mohit Saini is from Delhi and completed engineering from IIT, Varanasi, he worked in different companies as Software Engineer – TCS, IBM and a few start-ups (one was of which he was a co-founder. He co-founded NGO called Hara Jeevan which acts as a vehicle for working towards nature. Its primary areas are tree plantation, solid waste management and spreading awareness about environmental issues and solutions. He invests his time into personal finance and holistic health of himself and his family. He has been a pillar of strength in lending back-end support with his usual trademark qualities of patience, honesty and humility towards the Vanamali project since its inception in 2020.

Padmavati Dwivedi

CEO, Vanamali

Padmavati Dwivedi has done Masters in Social work from Andhra University, after a brief stint as a human resource professional, she has been actively engaged in protection of urban trees for more than a decade making her a prominent tree warrior in the capital. She has worked with Chandigarh Police on the Green Police project and as a Consultant with WWF-India leading tree walks. Padmavati is Project-Director for the ecological restoration project in Barsana, India. Padmavati works in an international ESG firm as Advisor- Operations to guide their future conservation works involving plantations and nature connect. She is also a certified Global biodiversity standard assessor. Padmavati loves getting her hands dirty growing plants on her terrace garden, which she calls her lab. Her current passion is expanding Vanamali Projects and tree walks.

Research Support Team

Vishnu Tattva

Vishnu tattva is supporting Vanamali in researching on sacred groves and native flora. He belongs to an eminent family of Mahabharat kul in Vrindavan, He is doing Masters in Sanskrit from Delhi University and working with Vrindavan research institute.

He has done research on braj 84 kros, poetry of midival poets of braj, Braj bhakti vilasa, mansuscriptology, vedic literature, and translation of many different scriptures. Vishnu Tattva is well versed in Hindi, English, Sanskrit, Brajbhasha and Brajbuli languages. He is currently based in Delhi and travelling around India to do survey on devotional places.

Sandeep Kannan

“I did my graduation in Electronics and communication engineering from (BVCOE) Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. Currently working in Infosys limited as Senior systems engineer. By profession I am an engineer and by passion I am a naturalist. I love to document nature and wildlife in and around Delhi including insects, snakes, spiders, trees. I started as a volunteer in WWF India in 2017 then worked with many organisations including BNHS, Those in need, swechcha etc. Also co-authored a book “Plants of the northern Aravalli range in Delhi” with BNHS and forest department”.

Rama Lakshmi

A computer sciences graduate and an MBA by qualification, Rama Lakshmi Peri runs an Edtech company along with her husband. Prior to that she worked as a researcher on multiple projects across publications, especially the Weekend breaks travel books by Outlook Traveller. Passionate about nature she along with her teenage son started an eco-club for their neighbourhood and conduct flora, bird and butterfly walks regularly to bring in awareness among neighbours. She also conducts nature walks for school children.

Ramin Mathias

Ramin Mathias is a Swiss environmental scientist and author who has been living in Braj for eight years. He did his PhD in philosophy and has done research and published books on Vedic spirituality, also in relation to ecology. He has been with Vanamali from its start, helping with research on the Braj ecology and spirituality.

Vallari Sheel

Vallari is an urban ecologist and a PhD candidate in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University, USA. She is a member of Dr Madhusudan Katti’s Reconciliation Ecology Lab and the Public Science Cluster at the university. Her current research focuses on understanding the significance of urban trees as a food resource for wildlife, including birds, in two megacities of India – Delhi and Bangalore. She is also examining citizen perspectives on urban trees in both cities. She shares insights from her research through her blog posts and Instagram account. She also strives to create awareness about the significance of urban nature and has been campaigning for the protection and preservation of trees in Delhi for the past several years. When she is not watching birds or admiring trees, she spends time in her garden where she experiments with growing several native plants and butterfly-friendly plants.