Green Gator of the Month: Anusha Chaudhary
March 2024
Written by Sustainable UF intern Alexandria O’Donovan
Each month, the Office of Sustainability will feature members of the University of Florida community who are making a sustainable impact on a daily basis. Keep reading to meet our featured faculty for March!
Meet Anusha Chaudhary!
Anusha is pursuing a PhD through the UF Department of Geography, focusing on Medical Geography in Global Health.
She is also the instructor for GEO3372, Conservation of Resources, an amazing course to learn more about biodiversity, resources, challenges, and strategies of conservation!
Outside of her academic pursuits, Anusha enjoys painting, caring for her plants, and being outside.
Finding Her Passion
Originally a Microbiology major, Anusha did not discover her passion for conservation and sustainability right away.
While working on a project to investigate how microbes can be used to break down polymers, she realized two things:
- She loved being outside in the field.
- She was wholeheartedly invested in solving environmental issues to improve conditions for the ecosystems, communities, and animals affected.
This project sparked her love for conservation, and she became committed to pursuing this newfound calling!
Since then, Anusha obtained a Master’s in Biodiversity and Conservation and has worked with various conservation organizations.
Advice for Future Conservationists
Having directly worked with landscape conservation and impacted communities, Anusha understands how challenging the field of sustainability and conservation can be.
Champions for sustainability and conservation can be met with questions, difficult problems, and demotivating situations; however, these tough times are not permanent.
“In those [tough] moments, try to hold your passion even closer because this is the time you should not let go.”
Anusha elaborates, “What you are doing is having a wonderful, direct impact on this planet. So, always appreciate yourself for that and never back down from challenges!”
She also advises that you remain open to all possibilities and try not to let your biases stop you from seeing new perspectives and solutions.
Life As A Gator
One of the things Anusha loves most about UF is being able to teach.
She says her favorite thing about teaching is meeting new students every semester and having a cross-learning environment. Whether it be conservation updates, fun facts, or new slang, she enjoys the opportunity to learn from students while they learn from her.
She also loves the diversity and sense of community that UF fosters. As both a student and teacher, Anusha remarks that UF promotes a feeling of togetherness that she truly appreciates.
Environmentally-Friendly Habits
One thing that Anusha says we can do to become more environmentally friendly is to question and be conscious of our choices.
“What kind of implications will your choice have on the environment?”
Some of the ways that Anusha tries to live a more sustainable lifestyle that other people can try are:
- Wearing second-hand or thrifted clothes
- Reusing glass bottles
- Composting food scraps
- Growing her own food
- Avoiding singular-vehicle use as much as possible
- Limiting water use
- Donate plastic bags back to stores
A mindful use of resources is a fundamental aspect of sustainability and something we should all think about and work towards!
Submit your recommendation for a student, faculty, or staff member to be featured in a future Green Gator of the Month article!
