Praneetha Monipi doesn’t just protect the planet, she’s building systems where people and wildlife can thrive together.

As a Conservation Scientist, One Health and Ecological Systems’ Strategist, and Founder of Adhvaya, Praneetha’s mission is to reconnect people with the Earth and with one another. She is transforming extractive systems into heart-led and community-held spaces.

Through the #MyPieceForChange campaign, we invite people to share their unique contributions to collective transformation. This series exists to honor their stories, amplify their voices, and connect them with a wider community of like-minded peers. Today, we’re honored to introduce our Changeworker of the Week: Praneetha Monipi whom we had the pleasure of interviewing for this special spotlight.

What’s your piece for change?

I reconnect people back to our planet and each other, transforming systems into heart-led and community-held spaces. My purpose is rebuild a world that is built on connection, compassion, and community.

What inspired you to begin this work or stay committed to it?

It was a snowball effect. I grew up around all sizes, colours, and shapes of animals..as a late diagnosed neurodivergent individual, growing up I felt like I belonged only when I was out in the wild or with animals around, even if it was a preying mantis on my bike handle. I saw the magic of our planet. I also saw both sides of human connection and disconnection to it – movements that can happen when people come together in hope and love, and the exploitation and abuse that happen when people don’t care. I grew up rescuing animals and still watched neighbours shoot down monkeys. As for deciding on wildlife conservation as a career, I was 10 years old and in a nature camp in the middle of a tiger reserve in south India. An orphaned sambar deer fawn who couldn’t be reunited with his herd soon became a photo op for tourists who fed him human waste and multiple touched him in crowds to get pictures. Something stirred in me and it felt incredibly exploitative. By the end of that week, I had made up my mind that I want to dedicate my life to protecting the planet and wildlife. Staying committed to it – well, I fell in love with this planet a long time ago and I don’t think I ever fell out of it. So I’m weaving this love story with all its ups and downs, and never loving it any less for it.

What’s one hope or vision you hold for the future?

That more and more people see, fall in love, and are connected to the beauty and magic of our planet. It’s never too late and we just need people to care deeper and love fiercer. This is what will protect the planet and each other.

What support or connection are you currently looking for?

As a woman-led, global south conservationist and non profit founder, working on underrepresented species, overlooked issues, and intersectional systems’ change, there is always a need for resources – financial partners, funds, organizational partners, and collaborators.

What’s one thing about your field or topic you wish more people knew, considered, or acted on?

That it really isn’t as inaccessible or unattainable, it isn’t even sensational as a lot of platforms make it seem. It’s life. As simple as that. And life, needs connection, nurturing, and community – in everyday things, not just in one big grand gesture once a year.

What practices, tools, or resources have supported you most on your changework journey?

Being mindful and intent on spending time connecting to the planet, holding space for community for those working in the field, having access to information – scientific, researched, and lived experience wisdom to guide our work.

Can you share a moment or experience that deeply shaped the way you approach change today?

As a highly sensitive and emotionally attuned individual, from my childhood and till my late teens, I did not want to work with people. Just animals. But as I grew up within the sector, I saw communities being displaced, people losing their homes and families, power dynamics and imbalance, and how systems and governments have failed IPLCs. Having been first hand witness to this changed my approach from wildlife only to an intersectional welfare approach and today my entire non profit is built on creating never done before approaches that are working for the people, planet, and animals.

What collective shift do you believe is needed for meaningful change to happen and what gives you hope that it’s possible?

We need more proactive participation, willingness to develop awareness, collaborate more with each other, and act better instead of from convenience. No change is easy but staying the same in the same tired, inefficient systems is worse. We need more people to be politically active, ecologically responsible, and personally conscious. And I have seen more people wanting to change how things work, taking initiatives instead of waiting for someone else – and this gives me hope. What we need to do is have better connectivity between all of us and that is what will multiply our impact!

How do you take care of your own energy or wellbeing while doing this work?

Our work is very heavy on our heart and emotions. Someone once advised me to engage my other senses to balance it out – something to do with our hands like pottery. I personally, have very strict time boundaries, energy load boundaries, digital and social media distance, self care routines, and reconnection periods. I do not work before and after a certain time of the day, I take on only as much as my energetic capacity permits (which changes everyday depending on situations and my own cycles), journalling and meditation, inculcating play as a non negotiable into everyday, not using my phone except for set periods, and absolutely taking walks with my pets, walking barefoot on grass, connecting with friends, and having hobbies that have nothing to do with my work.

Where can people learn more about your work or connect with you?

Connect via:

• http://www.adhvaya.org and https://conservationactivation.com/ca

• Instagram

• LinkedIn

The Parayma community is rooted in authentic, supportive relationships. 

Praneetha’s changework invites us to move beyond conservation as control and into a deeper, more loving relationship with the earth and each other.

🌿 Thank you, Praneetha for your fierce love and unwavering care. Your #PieceForChange is helping shape a more connected world.

Stay tuned for next week’s Changeworker feature, and if you’d like to be highlighted, join the campaign and tick the box to express your interest.