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Mahesh Negi
Nature Educator / Community-based Wildlife Educator
Ipska
Cohort
3
Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, India
Mahesh Negi is a community-rooted nature educator and youth mentor from Kinnaur who works to preserve local ecological knowledge, dialect-rich cultural memory, and deep human–wildlife relationships in the Western Himalaya. Drawing from learnings passed down through his family and community, he creates joyful, accessible nature learning experiences—especially around birds and local seasons—so that younger generations grow up with pride, curiosity, and a felt sense of coexistence with their landscape. He also explores nature-based livelihoods (such as birding) for local youth and strengthens community-led stewardship through storytelling, social media, and local-language outreach.
Passion Project
Primary Focus Area
Nature Education & Eco-literacy; Place-based Environmental Education
Special Expertise
Birdwatching facilitation and local-season indicators; integrating local dialect names and traditional knowledge; community-led documentation (articles, social media); nature-based livelihood pathways for youth (birding); Himalayan human–wildlife coexistence communication
Mahesh’s passion project focuses on strengthening coexistence and ecological literacy in Kinnaur by reconnecting young people with local wildlife knowledge and language. He leads birdwatching sessions and nature walks with school students (roughly Class 6 to +2) and youth (about 12–35), along with occasional community sessions with adults (about 30–55). A key approach is linking birds and their movements to seasonal understanding through local names and lived indicators (e.g., local bird sightings signalling winter/snow). He also supports awareness and dialogue around larger mammals such as the snow leopard and Himalayan brown bear, especially as climate and land-use changes reshape relationships with forests and wildlife. To build local capacity and reduce dependency on external support, he documents stories and insights through articles, local magazines and social media, and has initiated a Kinnaur Wildlife Calendar (2026) featuring species with local names—using proceeds to fund workshops and awareness campaigns across landscapes.
Communities engaged
Pedagogical Style