Kuyili’s Call
Keerthi Selvaraj from Tamil Nadu, India grew up in a conservative religious family which restricted her opportunities to explore. Despite her limitations, she began photographing birds because their beauty captivated her. While recording them on an international data platform, Keerthi learned about their role in maintaining biodiversity. This inspired her to explore wetlands and forests where she saw bird habitats under threat. Through Kuyili, she educates students and the community a large about the importance of birds and environmental care, and has initiated lake cleanups and tree plantations in forests and wetlands.
By Keerthi Selvaraj
Discovering the World Through Bird Photography
Imagine a world where crops are completely covered by insects, where dead animals are scattered along the roads, eaten by flies and rats, where there is not a shadow of plants and trees, or colourful flowers! All of this will happen when there are no more birds.
Birds play important roles in ecosystems acting as pollinators, seed dispersers, and scavengers and producers of fertilizers to the soil. Birds contribute significantly to biodiversity and aid in environmental cleanup. It’s not that birds need us; it’s that we humans need birds! This became clear to me after I began my journey in bird photography…
Breaking Boundaries: From Tradition to Exploration
Growing up in a conservative religious family, my dreams were often limited by my parents telling us not to get involved in activities other than religious. I was not allowed to go far from home to take pictures. So, I looked for ways to practice photography around my home and I challenged myself to take pictures of birds in flight. In just half a year, I documented all the common birds I saw around my house on the international data platform Ebird (https://ebird.org/india/home). Later, I found out that I was the first person in my district to do this…
Unveiling the Hidden World of Gomuki Dam
I started noting down water birds like herons, egrets, storks, and more. In 2019, I saw a Painted Stork for the first time. They’re known for their beautiful rosy, white, and black feathers, with a long yellow beak. But I didn’t see any more of these storks at the lake after 2019, and I didn’t see any records of them on Ebird either. Another bird that caught my attention was the “common Iora.” It’s a cute little bird with yellow feathers, and it sings a mix of whistles and chattering sounds like “wheeee-tee”. It also became a rare sight…
The Alarming Decline: Trash, Trees, and a Call to Action
Within three years, I photographed and recorded 202 different bird species. During this journey, I noticed variations in bird visits. I observed that the number of birds was decreasing particularly in a spot during the same period each year. This got me thinking about why this happened. When I started investigating further around this area, I saw that lots of trash, like plastic bottles and covers, were being dumped near the wetlands. This affected the soil fertility making it difficult for trees and plants to grow…
Educating the Future Stewards of the Environment
Knowing all the threats facing by birds through bird photography, I wanted to create awareness and show action to protect the environment. In 2021, while I was working as a professor at an Engineering College, I used my bird pictures to teach students about how important birds are for a healthy ecosystem. I worked together with the Forest Department to clean up Gomuki Dam and its surroundings. But none of my college students showed interest in taking part…
Empowering Young Minds: Kuyili’s Educational Initiatives
I carried printed photos of birds and surroundings along with me to teach school students. Till now I have given awareness to over 5000 students in about 30 public schools. During my presentations, I not only focused on the beauty of birds but also stressed the destruction caused by plastic waste pollution, the importance of planting trees, protecting wetlands, and taking care of our diverse environment…
Kuyili: A Cuckoo’s Vision for a Greener Tomorrow
I named my organisation “Kuyili” (A tropical cuckoo). It is an indicator for healthy bird diversity. We envision a future where the forests, grasslands, and wetlands are free of pollution and environmental destruction. We aim to empower students to be ambassadors for making Kallakurichi the Green District of Tamilnadu and create awareness about the urgency to protect the environment and promote sustainable practices through educational initiatives and active community engagement.
Embarking on Kuyili’s Green Journey
Kuyili’s journey begins by adopting 9 schools in Kallakurichi and conducting various activities and workshops with the students of these schools.
Have you missed Keerthi’s Dream Speech at kanthari TALKS? No problem:
you can see it here
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