Mahesh Ronseru is an nature educator, wildlife photographer, and mountain storyteller from Kinnaur, a high-altitude district in the Trans-Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh. His work grows from years of walking through remote valleys, listening to elders, tracking wildlife across harsh terrain, and learning directly from the landscapes he calls home. Through nature education, field expeditions, and community storytelling, he helps people, especially youth, understand the delicate connections between culture, ecology, and mountain life.
Mahesh’s early fascination with nature began in childhood, shaped by stories of mountains, spirits, Nagas-ti (springs), forests, and the living presence believed to reside in every element of the landscape. These stories quietly rooted themselves in him, and years later, during a people’s movement in Kinnaur to protect the mountains, something reawakened. This spark took him deeper into conservation, culture, and the ecological wisdom embedded in SHU traditions, an ancient animistic practice that honours the spirits of land, water, forests, and peaks.
Over the last several years, Mahesh has travelled extensively across Kinnaur from the deep valleys of Bhaba/ Rupi, to the high-altitude regions of Hangrang Valley. He has documented local cultures, tracked wildlife, and engaged with youth, elders, farmers, and herders, listening to their memories of an older, more connected world. His journeys have also taken him from the remote parts of Ladakh to Kanyakumari, exploring villages rich with stories of Tibet trade routes, oral histories, and spiritual traditions.
As a wildlife educator, Mahesh conducts nature sessions, bird walks, high-altitude expeditions, and storytelling workshops across the region. His work is grounded in experience-based learning, inviting people to see , feel, and understand the landscapes the way the communities who live there do: through patience, respect, and a sense of belonging.
Through his photography and field-based education programmes, Mahesh aims to build a generation that understands the mountains not just as scenery, but as living, breathing ecosystems intertwined with people, culture, and wildlife. His long-term vision is to strengthen nature education in Himalayan communities, empower young people to explore their landscapes, and keep alive the ecological wisdom that has guided mountain life for centuries.
