Conservation is about people, too! Conservation Wildlands, a philanthropic trust based in Mumbai, knows this as well as anyone. In 2014, the organization accomplished an ambitious project -- stuffing two libraries to the brim with donated children's and reference books, dictionaries and encyclopedias, and even old wildlife magazines. And just like that, the E-Base (Education Base) project was born! Inaugurated by environmental leader and esteemed polar explorer, Robert Swan, the E-base libraries serve local students and hope to stoke wildlife sensitization through reading and education.

When in the field, Conservation Wildlands operates in Pench Tiger Reserve, which, incidentally, is the forest that inspired Rudyard Kipling's beloved Jungle Book. This is one of the few ecosystems in the world where the tiger population is growing instead of shrinking.

Learn more about this project here. You can also click here to read about the time I spent at Pench with Conservation Wildlands.