People » Vanamali

Core Team

Padmavati Dwivedi

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 works 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.

Mohit Saini

Mohit is an Engineer by education, an IIT-BHU alumnus, and a nature lover at heart. He has worked in the IT industry in different companies and geographies for 19 years and has now voluntarily retired to pursue his interests. In 2015, along with other members, he started a non-profit organisation Hara Jeevan, which works for the environment, a vehicle to Give-Back to our Mother Earth. Its main areas are native tree plantation, municipality solid waste management, composting and spreading awareness for environmental issues. His other interests involve overall well being – physical, mental & spiritual health, spending time with family, travelling and personal wealth management.

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.