About Us – PAGDAND

The Pagdand Belief

Today, human beings, have without a doubt, established themselves as earth’s most dominant species. Down the ages, through our inventions, our actions, and our mere presence, we have been transforming our surroundings. Impacting the environment, and slowly but surely leaving a larger than sometimes necessary footprint on the ecosystem. Often forgetting that we are part of the very same system, not above it.

Using the same footprint and investing our efforts into walking a different path is what we do at Pagdand.

What started as an attempt to rekindle the child-like joy and amazement one gets through losing oneself in the wonders of nature, soon grew into a mission with a conscience.

Today, we are proud to present Pagdand as an independent, not-for-profit biodiversity conservation initiative.

A coming-together of committed individuals, a meeting of minds, a synthesis of intention and action, and a mission to walk the eco-talk.

Welcome to Pagdand.
And thank you for walking with us.

Pagdand’s Purpose

Pagdand is, in essence, a thought, an idea. a conscience-call even.
It’s not a structured concept, with well-defined edges and established parameters.

Like all thoughts, it promises to be organic, leading from one thing to another, encompassing one cause after another, as our steps take us further and farther into biodiversity conservation.

So, while its true scope can only be determined over time, and its direction can only be ascertained by our future thoughts and actions, here is the first step towards articulating our purpose:

To Mainstream Eco-consciousness.
To Highlight Co-existence.
To Engender Eco-awareness.
To Sensitize, Educate and Energize Communities.
To Stimulate Public Thought, Dialogue and Action.

Pagdand’s Goal

To enable societal eco-awareness, biodiversity preservation and sustainable development through inclusive conservation.

Pagdand’s Programs

Biodiversity Conservation & Restoration Program (BCRP) – Trigger a movement to help restore and conserve urban biodiversity and rejuvenate natural.
Environment Education & Awareness Program (EEAP) – Reignite eco-clubs in schools and bring back the focus on environment awareness and education.
Environmental Policy Advocacy (EPA) – Work closely with local and regional government agencies to help formulate practicable and sustainable environmental policies.

Dr. Jagdish Prasad is an expert and an all-rounder when it comes to environment and wildlife conservation. With an education grounded in mathematics and chemistry, and the field of economics and participatory forest management, he has been an environmental management practitioner for 32 years during his service in the Indian Forest Service, Gujarat Forest Department, from where he retired in 2017 as Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests. He believes in constantly improving his knowledge and experience by developing his understanding of natural resource management through various international short-term training courses.

Mr. Lodaya is the director of dot2dot Advertising Private Limited, Vadodara, Gujarat, a flourishing advertising company catering to a large Industrial and private Clientele in the country. He is extremely passionate about nature, conservation and sustainability and his enthusiasm led him to jointly lay the foundation of ‘Pagdand’ to enliven the City of Vadodara and the state of Gujarat by his ideas and contribution.

Dr. Devkar is an expert in zoology with 15 years worth of research experience under his belt. His research interests include micro chiropteran ecology, conservation breeding & reproductive biology of birds, ethnobiology and nanobiology. He has been teaching for 20 years and is currently an assistant professor in Zoology at the Faculty of Science, MSU, Baroda.

The Director of Sure Safety Pvt Ltd., owner of Mind Tree School – Ms. Anuprita Dand is one of the main guiding forces for Pagdand. Mrs. Dand is a passionately advocates for conservation and education. She strongly believes in serving the larger community through preservation of the environment and in the power of educating children regarding biodiversity conservation. At Pagdand, Mrs. Dand serves as the Lead Program Advisor and brings together her network of friends to run the Eco Club through the Environment Education and Awareness Program.

Ms. Tejal Shah holds a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics. Tejal is a spiritual, yoga enthusiast and a Reiki Master as well as an Iyenger Yoga trainer. She is fond of learning more from the Bhagvat Gita. Tejal loves singing and dancing. She believes that helping others is the most divine attitude and is especially passionate about working with children. She has taught Maths to underprivileged children in the past. Tejal believes that the best time to plant trees was 20 years ago, and the next best time is today! Tejal’s interest in helping children drew her towards Pagdand’s Eco Club where she also serves as a Program Advisor for the Environment Education and Awareness Program.

Ms. Anupama Kothari is a seasoned educator with a teaching experience of 18 years who has worked with both the GSEB and CBSE boards, covering subjects like Science, English, and Social Studies from 2002 to 2020. Beyond the traditional teaching roles, Anupama has made substantial contributions to the Education and NGO sectors through her work with Swavlambi and ACE Foundation (both NGOs), and through Charotar Vidhya Mandal Society. She has also played a crucial role in empowering women with English communication and life skills. Her illustrious career in education, her commitment to teacher training, and her passion for lifelong learning, coupled with her diverse hobbies, collectively define her as a dedicated and well-rounded individual. At Pagdand, Ms. Kothari also serves as a Program Advisor contributing through her passion for lifelong learning, commitment to teacher training and education.

Ms. Reena Rastogi is a passionate urban farmer from Vadodara, Gujarat. She has a deep love for nature and has created an Urban Food Forest in the heart of the city using permaculture techniques. At the Savitri Urban Food Forest, she has established an eco-education centre where young minds can connect with the essence of food cultivation. Her vision is to pass on the rich traditions of Indian farming to future generations. Through this she aims to foster a deep connect between people and their sustenance. Having a background in the Education sector, at Pagdand, Ms. Rastogi is one of the Program Advisors for the Environment Education & Awareness Program.

Ms. Alifia Hazariwala is certified in Early Childhood Care and been working in the Education sector for more than 15 years. Her passion for nurturing young minds is clear in her positive approach towards children, reflecting her commitment to their holistic development. Alifia has been an integral part of various creative writing, vocabulary building, and spelling workshops tailored to empower students with language skills and literary talent. Her dedication to students goes hand in hand with her role as a Program Advisor for Pagdand’s Eco Club activities through the Environment Education & Awareness Program.

Christi Sylvia completed her Master’s in Zoology from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in 2006. Since then, she has gained extensive experience in field-based ecological research, content writing and management. She has led and managed teams in the corporate (publishing) sector, and teams conducting fieldwork for wildlife conservation. Her conservation work-experience comes from working with premier wildlife organizations in India. Christi believes in lifelong learning. She believes in constantly upgrading her skills and has gained various program management and technical certifications to this end.
Her research interests include socio-ecological systems, human-wildlife interactions, ecological restoration, inclusive conservation, and sustainable development.
At Pagdand, Christi works as a Program Advisor in an honorary capacity advising on day-to-day work and activities related to the Biodiversity, Conservation and Restoration Program (BCRP) and Environmental Policy Advocacy (EPA).

Mr. Kartik Upadhyay is a self-taught naturalist. He is a small-business entrepreneur. He believes nature can teach you something new every day, which is why he spends all his spare time travelling to beautiful forests exploring and photographing flora and fauna.
As an avid naturalist he has published more than 30 research articles. He is a regular volunteer for animal rescue efforts and animal censuses conducted by the Forest Department and has a keen interest in biodiversity conservation.

Mr. Nishith Dand Former Chairman of CII Central Gujarat Zonal Council and the Managing Director of Sure Safety(India) Pvt Ltd., a leading manufacturer of Safety equipment for the Industries, Defense, and Aerospace sectors. He is fondly known as the “Space Suit Man”, as Sure Safety is the first to manufacture the “Astronaut Crew Escape Suit” for ISRO. He is also credited with many a firsts for the Industry to ensure the Safety of the Industrial personnel specially in the fields of Respiratory and Body protection. Beside his entrepreneurial endeavors, Mr. Dand is passionate about biodiversity conservation and environmentalism. This passion led him to slay the foundation of ‘Pagdand’, an NGO, based in Vadodara, along with like minded people working in the area of biodiversity conservation. This is besides his proactive involvement in areas concerning the problems faced by the City of Vadodara like the tree plantation drive and relocation of trees being uprooted to widen the roads etc.

Rituja Mitra is a distinguished professional who spearheaded transformation in the domains of development, conservation, and environmental rights. With dual master’s degrees in sustainability and ecology, coupled with corporate communications management,
she fortified her expertise through a post-graduate diploma in environmental law.
During her employment using the provisions of the Gujarat’s Forest Rights Act, Rituja has helped marginalized communities, notably the Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) in Kachchh and Saurashtra.
Rituja is interested in the domain of socio-ecological research, conservation of biodiversity and natural resource management by emphasizing on collective efforts by the communities through their empowerment and also promoting it through local level institutions.
Currently, she serves as National Coordinator – Forest Rights Program at CFP.
At Pagdand, Rituja works as a Program Advisor in an honorary capacity advising on day-to-day work and activities related to the Biodiversity, Conservation and Restoration Program (BCRP) and Environmental Policy Advocacy (EPA).