Meet an Educator is a monthly series by Early Bird, where we feature the work of educators across India who are actively spreading the joy of birds and nature. This month’s featured educator is Misha Bansal, a nature educator, who currently works as a Sustainability and Nature Education Specialist with a group of schools in Delhi.

Do tell us about yourself, where you are from, and your work
I grew up in Delhi, a city girl with an inexplicable pull toward animals. My love for science led me to study Biochemistry and then pursue a Master’s in Life Sciences. I then worked at the Aravalli Biodiversity Park (Gurgaon, Haryana), studying how restoration shaped bird communities. Then, for a year, I documented birds in Mangar village (Faridabad, Haryana) to support forest protection efforts. Alongside, I did nature camps and walks, sharing my discoveries with children and adults.

Then I joined Early Bird in Bengaluru, where I created learning resources, helped build the Young Birders’ Network, helped other educators become ‘bird educators’, and authored a guide to conducting birding workshops. With a friend, I also initiated All Women Nature Walks, now thriving in five cities. 

Currently, in Delhi, I work as a Sustainability and Nature Education Specialist with a school group, helping to infuse nature into the curriculum and weave sustainable practices into the school system.

What excites you about the natural world?
What excites me about the natural world is inexplicable. It’s something I simply feel, like music, art, or dance, it just brings joy. Perhaps it’s the vastness and endlessness of it all, the way its beauty, intricacy, and rawness simply are. Or maybe it’s the four-billion-year-old connection with the Earth that I carry within me … a cluster of molecules in water evolving into a complex being. I can’t trace this feeling back to a single bird, animal, or landscape, nor to one defining moment. It’s just there.

When and how did you get interested in bird/nature education?
As a child, I loved animals and first dreamed of becoming a vet, then a wildlife activist, then an environmentalist, then an ecologist. While pursuing ecology, I realised that my real strength lies not in research but in speaking about the things that excite me. I am good at transferring that energy, and people respond to it. That realisation set me on the path of education. I began as someone sharing what I loved, and over time, it became clear that teaching – really, facilitating learning – was where I was meant to be.

What do you hope to achieve through your education work?
Nature education, I have come to realise, is simply education. Its goals are the same as any meaningful system: to instil empathy, kindness, curiosity, and resilience. What makes it powerful is how we do this.

Compassion and kindness can grow when children stop being ‘icked out’ by insects and begin to see beauty in every form of life. Curiosity can deepen as they notice the sheer diversity of life—its patterns, behaviours, the phenology of a tree, or the return of dragonflies after migration. The endless exceptions to every rule can make them more open and accepting.

The way we facilitate learning is what ultimately makes the difference. Openness, collaboration, and the use of multiple methods that respond to different intelligences. Each approach helps children connect in their own way, and together they create richer, more meaningful experiences. This is not confined to nature; it is about education itself.

What I hope to achieve through my work is learning that reawakens our innate connection with life and shapes us into beings who are compassionate, thoughtful, and capable of understanding our place in the larger living world.

Why do you believe it is important for children to learn about birds or connect with nature?
I will speak from my perspective as a city-dweller. 

It is astonishing to see how unaware we all, not just children, are of the living world around us. It feels deeply unnatural. As my fellow educator Shonali once put it, it’s almost like living inside a simulation.

Life today has become about everything but life itself. Most of us don’t know where our food comes from, where our water flows from, or where our waste ends up. We are utterly disconnected from the systems that sustain us. How can we function as complete and aware beings if we have no understanding of how the Earth actually works? What makes it harder is that the structures around us are designed to keep us in this state of disconnection, and it only seems to be growing deeper. That is why nature education is so crucial, not just for children but for everyone in cities. It reminds us of the reality of our existence, of life in its truest form. Humanity has been in relation with nature for millennia, but somewhere along the way, we lost the plot. At its core, this isn’t just education; it’s the systemic reorientation our society desperately needs.

What tools or resources have helped you in teaching about birds? Can you describe an approach that has worked exceptionally well for you?
The biggest resource, of course, is the natural world. There has to be access to green spaces because nothing can replace that.

The heart of the work lies in creating experiences that are exciting enough to leave a lasting impact. This unfolds on two levels: the longer engagement, where big-picture outcomes gradually take shape, and the smaller, immediate encounters that feed into this larger story. They both demand a different mindspace and set of tools. 

For the shorter experiences, I begin by asking: how much time and resources do I have, and what is the one message I want learners to carry with them? Then I put together a narrative, and then the tools—observation, healthy competition, visual aids, play, sensory experiences, and discussions.

At the core of my approach is the belief that I am not a “teacher”, but a facilitator. I learn alongside children, doing the same activities, and taking their feedback seriously. This equal footing makes learning more authentic. I carefully observe their reactions and responses, and keep adapting—returning to the drawing board whenever needed. A lot of times, I have to rethink my assumptions and sometimes, even my own beliefs.

Have you encountered a significant challenge as a bird/nature educator, how did you overcome it?
Nature education comes with both philosophical and practical challenges.

Philosophically, the first hurdle is defining what “nature education” even means. Modern education itself is totally misaligned, and the waters are muddied further by greenwashing and “save the planet” slogans. As George Carlin said, “The planet isn’t going anywhere … we are!”. So, much of the work begins with un-learning. I avoid the “saving” narrative and instead focus on delight—watching a spider weave a web or a snail crawl across the ground. Creating these moments of connection, beyond naming species, is the hardest yet most important part of the work.

Another challenge I used to face was in contexts where people are already deeply tied to the rhythms of the Earth, such as rural or forest communities. Their relationship with nature spans generations, and for me, such spaces are now only to observe and learn. I choose to stay rooted: working where I am from, with the people and landscapes I know, focusing on long-term engagement, simplicity, and self-awareness.

On the practical side, challenges include the lack of clear career pathways and the seemingly abstract nature of this work, which many people struggle to understand. The nature education community in India is still discovering itself, especially since the tried and tested Western models do not fit our context. Financial stability has also been difficult, and I’ve been fortunate to have a supportive family. Striking a balance between sustaining myself and carving a meaningful niche remains the biggest challenge—one I am still learning to navigate.

Do share any memorable moment or experience you have had in teaching kids about birds/nature. Can you recall any insightful instance that shaped your perspective?
I’m not the best at memorising routes, and during one of my early nature walks, I lost the trail. The only way out was to take a rocky path through slightly dense vegetation. A school teacher checked and confirmed it was safe, but I was apprehensive about how the children—just 9-10 years old—would respond. To my surprise, they embraced it as an ‘adventure’ rather than something scary. That moment reminded me how simple and full of wonder children are, and how naturally they can lean toward curiosity over fear.

Overall, something that has stayed with me is the depth of connection children form with me. I don’t think this is exclusive to nature education; it comes from spending long periods of time with children in any context. The bond they build with a facilitator or educator is profound. When they look up to you, every word carries weight. It is both humbling and daunting, constantly reminding you of the responsibility you hold.

Have you noticed any changes in your learners after they received exposure to birds and nature-based learning? If yes, what are they? If not, why do you think that is?
Yes, absolutely. Children become more aware of their surroundings. They start noticing details they once overlooked – plants, insects, and bird calls. Their fears diminish: spiders, geckos, and other “creepy crawlies” no longer feel as threatening. Many myths are broken, and they shift from seeing nature as something “out there” to recognising it as part of their everyday lives.

What I don’t see, however, is an immediate or radical change in behaviour towards sustainability. Children don’t suddenly start living ‘eco-friendly’ lives because that is incredibly difficult in the systems we inhabit. As I’ve said before, everything around us is designed to make us exploitative. Short-term experiences alone rarely create lasting change. What’s truly needed is long-term, well-rounded engagement—and while I haven’t yet done that enough to see the full impact, I am hopeful! 🙂

What message would you have for your fellow educators, or somebody starting out in their nature education journey?
See nature education not as education about nature, but education in nature. This is my biggest learning in this journey so far. Don’t isolate it from other “subjects” because everything is connected, and the natural space is THE arena to learn almost anything. Also, focus on fun. Fun is VERY important. Sometimes the most meaningful lesson is simply sitting outdoors, playing freely, and making our own meanings, rather than reducing learning to names, facts, or over-structured activities.

At a personal level, practice detachment. Be passionate, but don’t carry the entire weight of the world on your shoulders, or else you’ll burn out. Document your journey and step into everything with awareness. Keep questioning – yourself, your methods, and the world around you. Seek mentors you can regularly turn to for guidance, but remember to question them too!