Research Collections Facility - Collaborations
Thackeray Wildlife Foundation:
The Thackeray Wildlife Foundation (TWF) is a non-profit, research and conservation organisation. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Mumbai, TWF scientists have already described over 80 new species from India. TWF aims to document the lesser-known flora and fauna of India, which play key roles in ecosystem functioning. Through field surveys and study of museum specimens, TWF scientists discover new species and add knowledge to poorly known, highly biodiverse and micro-endemic taxa. TWF currently has projects on arachnids, freshwater fish, crustaceans and molluscs; numerous vertebrates including birds besides lizards, snakes and frogs (herpetofauna); as well as plants. TWF also aims to secure the long-term persistence of wild landscapes, including the native fauna, flora and indigenous people.
Feather Library:
The Feather Library is dedicated to the documentation, identification, and study of the flight feathers of Indian birds. All the bird specimens are collected from deceased birds at rescue centres to establish a primary database of bird species. It aims to establish an online digital repository that showcases the feathers of various Indian bird species in different geographical and temporal contexts.
Esha Munshi initially trained as an architect, leads the Feather Library. She is also a bird watcher, bird sound recordist, and citizen scientist. Apart from leading the Feather Library she helps in curating the bird specimens at the Research Collections.
Nature Education Partners:
They are a social enterprise working to bridge the gap between people and nature through creative storytelling. They work with adults, children and educational institutions to deliver nature-based experiences ranges in objective from well-being and awareness to knowledge building and complementing mainstream curricula. They also conduct in-house research and help organizations in the wildlife and nature space with their outreach initiatives.
Nature Classrooms is an initiative of the Nature Conservation Foundation, under the Education and Public Engagement Program. We re-imagine the experience of Environmental Studies (EVS) to seamlessly include Nature Learning in primary schools across India.