March 29, 2024

Nehal Shah and her tryst with nature

Nehal Shah a nature enthusiast from Mumbai, a mum and working professional who has a solo venture regarding nature conservation shares her interest in life regarding nature. She also talks of her journey until now into motherhood and most importantly tips on getting children bond with nature.

“I have been born and brought up in Mumbai which is big city and the city as such did not offer plenty of nature. Me and my sister feel blessed to share the same passion towards environment.

During my growing up years, my childhood memories comprised of gardening with my grandfather & father, tending & being empathetic towards animals and birds, visits to nature parks/zoos etc whenever possible. As I grew up, I realized my best childhood memories as a child comprised spending time with my loved ones in nature and that did shape my personality in my growing up years to travel too. Even now we try and spend time in nature as a family.

My son Dev is 3.4years and the most important learning and experience I felt is that “a child gives birth to a mother”. It has truly transformed me as a person and motherhood has been an extremely fulfilling journey. I have actually understood the meaning of unconditional love. Children are like sponges and they absorb everything we expose them to.

I strongly feel it is our (parents) moral responsibility to shape them. This journey has been equally enriching for me as a mother in every way and I have grown to be a better person after becoming a mother. Being a mother has made me empathetic towards any cause related to the well being of children.

I am currently working with a media house and started ‘Heart & Soil’ purely out of passion & introduce my son to the outdoors. Now, other parents have also given an encouraging feedback on the venture.

With my solo venture and having my kid along, I have done farm visits, eco village day outs, adventure activities like rappelling & kayaking, camping, nature trails, sailing, etc. In fact I get my cues on organizing events from my child. Whatever he is learning or showing interest in I try & give it an experiential form through an event.

Exposing the kids to nature at a younger age lays a strong foundation for their lifetime hobbies and interest which is a gift for life. When exposed to gadgets kids are over stimulated and are unable to process lower levels of stimulation. They get addicted to gadgets & then lose interest in human interactions & natural environment which hampers their mental, emotional and physical development. In the current age children are developing development problems due to higher usage of gadgets.

I used to be an avid traveller/trekker and was keen to introduce my son to the outdoors as I truly believe there is no better teacher than ‘Mother Nature’.”

Mums and stories thanks Nehal for sharing her story and wish her the very best in life.

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *