Anya’s passion for conservation
Half Sri Lankan and half Norwegian, Anya de Saram – Larssen is a young philanthropist who has a passion for wildlife and her action based volunteerism surpasses her tender 13 years.
Anya - Pic by M.A.Pushpa Kumara
A student of the British School, Colombo, Anya was recently placed among hnourees at the 2018 International Young Eco-Hero award in the age group 13 – 16. Hosted by the nonprofit organization ‘Action for Nature’. Anya was among 19 other young activists who tackled tough environmental issues bringing them to the forefront of mundane conversation.
The only Sri Lankan and South Asian among the other recipients of the award – children aged between 8 to 16 years hailing from USA, Australia, Canada, Columbia, Peru, South Africa, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates, Anya raised awareness to a an issue that’s close to home- the Human-elephant Conflict.
“I’ve always loved wildlife,” Anya shares, a passion much attributed to her late maternal grandmother, who was one of the first members of the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society (SLWCS) back then. An active participant in her school environmental society Anya thrives in creating awareness and work that makes a positive change to our world.
As global warming becomes crucial dinnertime conversation she adorns her battle attire affirming “If I’m going into a world full of inevitable destruction I rather go prepared.”
It was a chance occurrence when a random advertisement asking people to fund an ‘EleFriendly bus service’ by the SLWCS popped up as Anya was perusing the internet in 2016. The ad shed light to the sad plight of the human – elephant conflict and sparked the interest of this young animal lover.
The EleFriendly bus, one of the many solution based initiatives by the SLWCS was designed to act as a mediator between a potentially aggressive elephant and a pedestrian. The initiative was derived off the anxieties of the locals in Wasgamuwa, mainly those who would risk their lives walking to and from school or work in the Wasgamuwa National Park region (most distances spanning around a 5km journeys on foot).
As elephants and humans now inhabit the same roads, lands and corridors angry villagers would react with fear shooting at crop raiding elephants, and vice versa an aggressive elephant might potentially harm an unarmed resident or pedestrian.
As villagers shut themselves in their huts and elephants cautiously wander the jungles, the SLWCS hopes the 24 passenger EleFriendly Bus will sustain as a fun, educational ride for passengers to get to work and school without fear.
Since its launch in May 2016 the transport system has helped local farmers to spend more time and earn more income free from the burden of worrying for their lives. Parents are also assured that the transport system will safely transport children to school without an unexpected incident.
Taken up by their work Anya too wished to contribute to the cause. Reading up on the conflict and promptly meeting her school Principal Dr. John Scarth to put her words into action. Organizing a school bake sale Anya ensured that all the proceeds would be donated to the transport system whilst presenting the work of the SLWCS and educating her school mates on the human elephant conflict via a presentation.
In April this year the teen organized a conservation camp in Wasgamuwas. Hosted by the SLWCS, Anya and 6 of her friends were involved in field work and solution based techniques on how to combat the human-elephant conflict whilst also spending time with the village children.
“I used to sympathize more with the elephants” Anya shares however adding that her visits to Wasgamuwa made her see both sides of the same coin “The people are terrified of elephants and until you see it you don’t really understand the situation.”
For the people in rural areas the fear of elephants is an inherent emotion which passes down from the older to younger generations. Anya is first hand witness to these anxieties as she recalls “I remember watching a kids art competition and the only images they drew were elephants chasing villagers, eating crops while the villager hides inside the house” she comments “They were born into that mentality of fearing an elephant”.
Anya tells us about on another SLWCS initiative to eradicate the human-elephant conflict – Project Orange Elephant. The project utilizes an elephant’s natural aversion to citrus plants in order to protect crops and homes of the local farmers. This nonviolent initiative ensures that this “citrus fence” of orange plants allow farmers to protect their harvest whilst ensuring that they earn an additional income from selling the fresh citrus produce.
“I’ve always loved animals and wildlife but I never knew what I could do and when I saw the cause I thought this is something I could work on,” however openly admitting to her initial reservations on whether people would take her actions seriously given her age.
Connecting with the Eco Hero awards by a stumble on Facebook she says that by applying she mainly hoped to shine light to the human-elephant conflict and the heroic work of the SLWCS.
But what continues to motivate her in aspiring work? “I always imagine myself 10 years from now” the visionary teen states adding “as I look around at the trees and wildlife I wonder if my kids will have the same life which I am leading now and if they don’t that scares me.”