The connection with nature is critical for anyone aspiring to work in environmental conservation or just nature. It can be even more effective if the connection is made at an impressionable age, usually at a young age. Early exposure to nature at a tender age can shape life’s trajectory for many people.

This is especially true when it comes to writing. Many famous writers grew up with close interactions in nature, shaping their awareness and sensitivity towards life forms other than our own. Generally, people who grow up in hills, have access to forests, or even grow up around animals are able to interweave natural elements in their works.

Great writers like Henry David Thoreau or John Muir grew up in the verdant lap of nature and hence were able to integrate nature as an essential force in their works, be it Walden or the Mountains of California. However, one might argue that it was the 19th Century, and natural vistas were never far away.

Take Gerald Durrell. His family moved to the island of Corfu in the 1960s when he was just 10. The wonder and fascination he developed at that tender age shaped his adult life, resulting in the famous Corfu trilogy: My Family and Other Animals, Birds, Beasts and Relatives, and The Garden of Gods. Annie Dillard also spent her childhood in rustic Pittsburgh in the 1950s, exploring the woods, fields and waterways around her home. All these elements find space in her writings, be it The Pilgrim at the Tinker Creek or Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters.

Closer home, we have numerous examples. To begin with, we have the hunter-turned-conservator, Jim Corbett. Born in picturesque Nainital overlooking the mighty Himalayas, Corbett developed a fascination with exploring the forests, tracking animals, and soaking in the natural world. It is another thing, he started as a ‘Shikari Saab’, before shunning the gun and becoming a champion for the same tigers and leopards he hunted.

RK Narayan, another legendary writer, didn’t write about nature in detail, but flora and fauna were always integral themes in the creation of Malgudi. In many ways, Narayan’s Malgudi is a reminiscence of his early childhood Mysore. At the age of three, Narayan had moved to Mysore and grew up in his grandmother’s house. And the Mysore of yore – a city with a rich heritage and a small town forms the fabric on which the idea of Malgudi was subsequently etched.

Another famed example is M Krishnan, who was a renowned naturalist and a prolific chronicler of India’s wildlife from the 1950s onwards. He spent his childhood in rural South India, where his early experiences in nature sparked his lifelong passion for wildlife. He went on to pen a column, “Country Notebook,” in The Statesman for almost four decades without a break.

Ruskin Bond has probably written more books on nature and wildlife for children than any other writer in India and possibly the world. Bond is undoubtedly one of India’s most prominent and influential nature writers for young readers. Bond spent his childhood in Dehradun and Mussoorie, nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas. As a child, he was fascinated by mountains, forests, trees and the different animals. Even in his outings to his grandfather’s place in Jamnagar, the connection with nature remained strong.

However, what was true in the 19th and 20th centuries, would it still be valid today? With most of our forests and wild areas replaced by cities or agri-fields, exposure to nature is ever more critical today. Green does not mean pristine anymore; it could be of any shade and hue, a public park, a trek to a mountain, a visit to a zoo, or the occasional foray into natural parks. Even books based on themes of nature can be a good starting point. Children who get to read books on animals, trees, mountains, rivers and so on can connect to nature even indirectly. Let’s ensure that the next generation also finds its way back to the wild and green, wherever they may find it.