Bangalore is one of the last places you’d expect to find a nature enthusiast. With a bustling population of over 14 million people and constant traffic roaring through the streets, you’d be hard pressed to find any quiet spots of nature aside from a couple of parks.
For Nikshep Trinetra, most of his experience with nature initially came from National Geographic. He had always been interested in it, but never had the opportunity to explore the field until he moved out of town for his bachelor’s degree.
There was just one problem. His bachelor’s degree had nothing to do with nature. Rather, he was pursuing chemical engineering.
“It’s a very stereotypical path for Indians,” Trinetra says. “Most of my friends took up engineering due to familial pressure, and I thought it would be alright if I followed suit. At that time, I didn’t know other options or careers were viable.”
But as he progressed through his degree, one thing became clear – he felt like a misfit in engineering.
Trinetra’s favourite memories of his chemical engineering degree were biking with his friends through the hillsides. Source: Nikshep Trinetra
A slow but sure realisation
Whenever he felt down or needed an outlet, Trinetra turned to nature.
His university, the National Institute of Technology Karnataka, was close to the Western Ghats, which meant he was surrounded by lush hills and mountainsides. On weekends or whenever he had spare time, he dedicated them to hiking.
“It’s a beautiful place and there’s a lot of forests, grasslands, and wildlife, with hikes made for ecotourism,” he says. “I even ended up organising some of these hikes myself with some friends, and we spent almost every weekend out.”
Slowly but surely, his interest developed. By the end of his bachelor’s degree, Trinetra was certain – he didn’t want to become an engineer.
“Chemical engineering means I have to go into main industries like petroleum or pharmaceutical, and I didn’t want to do any of that. I didn’t feel good about it,” he explains. “I even tried out an internship in pharma, but didn’t like it. It’s all against nature.”
Spurred by his newfound passion for nature, he decided on an alternative route – he’d go to the Himalayas. He had wanted to do it for a while, and he started looking at internships that would allow him to get there.
One stood out to him – a waste management internship.
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A route to studying environmental science
Perhaps working in waste management wasn’t the first thing that would come to mind when anyone thinks of an internship in the Himalayas. There are positions like trekking managers, campsite organisers, or even opportunities for research and conservation.
Trinetra joined Indiahikes, the country’s largest trekking community with over 30,000 trekkers a year, learning how to segregate waste and training others on how to do it.
“I trained the staff members on separating plastics and papers, and part of the job was also to find something to do with wet waste apart from composting,” he says. “One example was making biogas. I’d say this was a big turning point for me because I became really interested in it as a career prospect.”
After his internship, he stayed on in the field to gain experience. He worked for several NGOs like Waste Warriors Society and the Snow Leopard Conservancy, which was where he met a government official who inspired him to pursue environmental science professionally.
“He was very inspiring to me. I could see him work on a daily basis, and it was amazing how I could see a very big difference,” says Trinetra. “He was managing large national parts and showed me processes on how which parts were conserved, which parts were to be used by people, and how to engage with everyone else within the organisation.”
During that time, Trinetra considered entering civil services to find a way to make a difference. Unfortunately, he failed for three years in a row.
“Over 10 million people take it a year, and only a hundred get it,” he says. “The probability was very low, but I still tried until I decided I couldn’t get past it – and I could do a master’s instead. It was a backup choice, but it ended up being one of the best things I did for myself.”
Trinetra knew that he wanted to study something specific within the environmental science sphere – ecosystem services. It was either that or wildlife conservation.
After a bit of Googling, Wageningen University & Research (WUR) popped up at the top of his feed, and he knew where to go.
Trinetra’s pursuit of an environmental science degree is something he doesn’t regret one bit. Source: Nikshep Trinetra
What studying environmental science in the Netherlands is like
The last time Trinetra visited the Netherlands, all he remembered was seeing some cows. Upon returning as an adult and a master’s student, he was surprised to see how much the beautiful city of Wageningen offered.
“Biking paths here are really well made, there’s a lot of manmade nature – trees planted exactly where they’re supposed to be – and many international students here,” he says. “Everyone spoke English. It felt like Amsterdam or London.”
Another thing that stood out to him was how different learning here was. Back home in India, students would do whatever their professors told them to do without question, and most of it was memory-based learning.
“Here, it’s more applied. There’s a lot of freedom for thought, and you can even disagree with your professors,” he says. “They encourage disagreement, because science is technically born through disagreement.”
As he progressed through his master’s, it became apparent to him that it had been a worthwhile decision.
“Even though I already had a lot of practical knowledge of how to gather a community, find support, engage with stakeholders and more, there was still a theoretical background that was missing, and this master’s really helped,” he says.
Trinetra encourages those who are passionate about the environment to follow in his footsteps and constantly reminds others around him that nature should be valued more.
“I really like nature – I really like the outdoors,” he says. “I think the outdoors has to be valued more, and that humans have to remain in touch with nature. That’s why I’m in this field in the first place.”
