A Shade Better

Happiness delivery: Forest First has not only helped restore native plant species in the Western Ghats but has also improved the lives of local communities

- SONALI ACHARJEE

After 16 years of working at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in Wayanad, Kerala, it was a 2010 visit to a piece of land Meera Chandran’s family owned in the district that changed her life. She found that Lantana weed, an invasive species that kills native plants, had taken over the land, thereby upsetting the ecological balance. For three years, Chandran worked tirelessly—manually uprooting the weeds so that they don't grow back—to clear the area and restore native plant species. Around the same time, the endeavour made Chandran want to work on conservation on a larger scale, and thus, the Forest First Samithi was born. After four years of juggling TCS and Forest First, she finally quit her job and devoted her entire time to conservation.