UN Environment Hero! - Subhranshu Satpathy

 

“My Father is a forest officer. Thus, I was brought up quite away from the hustle and bustle of city life and had developed interest towards nature and wildlife. Eventually, when we moved out from this place, we realised that there is no other place like this one. In other places, instead of trees, there were buildings, instead of birds sitting on a tree branch, there were birds lying dead on an electric wire. My Maa loves birds and because of her, I love them too. Thus, when I saw all these disturbing sights, I decided to do something for them.

I came up with the idea of making a film on this topic. We all know how impactful movies are! My film, “They Really Need Us”, highlighted the art of giving water to birds. Birds don’t really get along with humans because of the fear of being hurt or caught. So, I wanted to give them water in an environment which is natural to them. Thus, after 3 years of hard work, my movie came into being. UK Wildlife Films recognised me as the, “Youngest Indian Environment Filmmaker”. Titanic’s DOP also appreciated me. The movie even received a Dada Saheb Phalke award.

We screened the movie in various schools, online platforms and screening festivals. Every summer, I go to schools and donate mud pots so that it can be used to water the birds. After knowing the cause, the potter also started giving me a discount. He said,” This will be my contribution towards nature conservation”.

To end plastic pollution, I also created the longest human chain of Odisha. This was an initiative under the UN. I have been working for them for 3 years now. They recognised my efforts and honoured me with the “UN Environment Hero” award in 2020.

I do understand the concept of development, but it has to take place keeping nature in consideration. Going after development by absolutely ignoring nature, is a grave problem that humanity is bringing upon itself.” – Subhransu Satpathy.

To watch Subhransu's movies, click the links given below:

https://youtu.be/IL8goj8Za9Y

https://youtu.be/zQrDmX5uYvU