Saranarat Kanjanavanit, PhD

Co-Founder and Owner, Nunienoi Wetland and Farm

Industry : Advocacy

This ecologist, environmental advocate and recipient of the National Geographic Thailand Explorer Award 2019, is now firmly entrenched at Nunienoi Wetland and Farm in Chiang Mai which practises rewilding food production, biodiversity conservation and organic agriculture. Prior to this, Dr Oy was the president of the Green World Foundation where she pioneered citizen sciences in Thailand. In the past year she launched her new book "Homo Gaia" that questions the place of humans as members of the planetary community. Her wetlands were recently devastated by a plague of rose-eating beetles as a result of the extreme weather, but her team of farmers and ecologists helped identify the best solutions, resulting in her crops recovering faster than other farms in the area. She firmly believes that people and nature can heal and recover together if given a chance. She is planning hands-on courses related to her book that cover intraspecies communication–as reflected in her favourite documentary "My Octopus Teacher"--to empower people with their own nature conservation actions. She also hopes one day to set up a rewilded agricultural land trust that also serves as an inspirational nature connection centre.