The Padma Shri award was presented to Tulsi Gowda, a 72-year-old environmentalist from Karnataka, on November 8, for her contributions towards safeguarding the environment. Her story as an environmentalist has proven to be an inspiration to many throughout the years.
Tulsi Gowda was conferred with the Padma Shri award yesterday, which is the fourth-highest civilian award in the country. President Ram Nath Kovind presented the award to the tribal environmentalist, who was barefoot and dressed in traditional attire in the ceremony.
Tulsi Gowda belongs to the Halakki indigenous tribe in Karnataka and hails from a poor and disadvantaged family. Throughout her formative years, Gowda never had access to any formal education, but despite all odds, she began expanding her knowledge in the field of plants and other fauna.
Today, she is known as the ‘Encyclopedia of the Forest’, as she possesses vast knowledge about the herbs and plant species found across the world. Ever since she was a teenager, she has been actively contributing to protecting the environment and has planted thousands of trees.
Tulsi Gowda joined the forest department as a temporary volunteer so that she could further contribute and make a significant change for environment conservation. She was later recognized for her efforts and offered a permanent position with the forest department.
Dedicated to preserving nature her entire life, Tulsi has planted more than 30,000 saplings in her lifetime and has been involved in multiple environmental conservation activities since the young age of 10.
She began working towards improving the forests of India at the age of 12 when she was working alongside her mother at a nursery. Even at the age of 72, she is dedicated to nurturing the environment and fighting afforestation in the country.
