Saidevi Sanjeeviraja grew up with nature as her constant companion in the Eastern Ghats in Tamil Nadu. Growing up near the Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary, she was surrounded by peacocks and an endangered species of squirrel. Weekends often involved bird watching both on and off school grounds. This setting offered her abundant unstructured time in nature.

“Since my mother worked as the principal of my school, I had the freedom during summer holidays to roam around 20 acres of land, often in solitude. Such an environment nurtured my curiosity — I spent hours observing ant lions constructing tiny trap holes or watched tailor birds adeptly weaving cobwebs between leaves to create their homes,” she recalls in a conversation with The Better India.

She would often find herself drawn back into the lap of nature even after her academic journey in finance and international business.

Reflecting back on those formative years, she realised that moving to Bengaluru as an adult had created a huge gap in how children interacted with nature.

“While the city boasts a wealth of green spaces, with parks and lakes within a couple of kilometres from nearly every home, there’s a noticeable gap in how children can interact with nature,” she says.

“Unlike the unstructured freedom I enjoyed, children in Bengaluru experience more regimented interactions with nature, limited to brief, controlled visits to parks. They’re often directed by adults and bound by many restrictions, like not being allowed to run or sit in certain areas,” she adds.

Unlike her own childhood, where hours could be spent observing the intricate behaviour of ants or the architectural abilities of........

© The Better India