Aishwarya Sridhar
Writer, poet and passionate conservationist

Aishwarya Sridhar is only 15 years old – one of the youngest ever Sanctuary awardees. But her age belies her wisdom. She is already a powerful voice for conservation and a shining example to children her age. Her poems and essays, born of a passion for nature, have won numerous awards at inter-school competitions and have been published in papers around the country including The Times of India, DNA and Cub magazine. She appeared on the 2010 NDTV Tiger Telethon to speak vociferously for the tiger. A quiet worker, she is already a force to reckon with in her locality where people turn to her for help when confronted with situations involving wildlife that they do not know how to handle. Tough and purposeful, she has a loose network of supporters who very recently tipped her off so she could prevent the mindless killing of three Russell pit vipers and a cobra, which she released into a nearby forest. Aishwarya has a lifetime ahead of her, yet is driven to widen support for nature conservation because in her words: “The natural world is in trouble and we have no time left.”

For this we honour her.