Arvind Chalasani

Green Teacher Award (2003)

Trekker, naturalist and conservationist, Arvind Chalasani is the quintessential Green Teacher. He considers it his life’s purpose to inject a respect for the earth in children. His love for the outdoors was nurtured during long nature walks in his native Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.

Following the dictum that “Nature is the Best Classroom,” he has been the Master-in-charge of Environmental Sciences at the Doon School since April 1998. He has led students on projects to Ladakh, Orissa, Gujarat and Makku-math and undertakes ecological awareness campaigns on a daily basis in Dehradun and its surrounds. Through the Kids for Tigers initiative in Dehradun and Mussoorie, he is in touch with over 75,000 children in 60 schools and has welded the children of Uttaranchal behind the campaign to protect the Rajaji National Park. He was instrumental in gathering over a quarter of a million signatures in support of the restoration of the Chilla-Motichur elephant corridor and is determined to ensure that this fragile habitat is returned to the gentle giants.