Exploring the Importance of Coexistence in Wildlife Conservation with Ruth Ganesh

Story in the Public Square

It’s easy to think that people and animals are incapable of coexistence. But Ruth Ganesh warns that mindset is dangerous to biodiversity, to the existence of some of planet earth’s most remarkable creatures, and even to humanity.

Ganesh is a creative conservationist and philanthropist with a particular interest in environmental issues. She has spent the last 15 years conceiving and producing large scale public art exhibitions in London, Edinburgh, NYC and Mumbai. Ganesh serves as the co-founder of the CoExistence Collective and principal trustee of Elephant Family, a non-government organization based in the United Kingdom dedicated to protecting Asian elephants from extinction in the wild. The Great Elephant Migration is a global fundraising project of the CoExistence Collective that aims to to amplify indigenous knowledge and promote shared spaces between wildlife and humans. The Migration features one hundred life-size elephant sculptures created a community of 200 indigenous artisans in the Nilgiri Hills of South India. The sculptures are made from lantana camara, an invasive weed that encroaches on wildlife habitat and each one is modeled after a real elephant the artisans live alongside in India. The elephant herd is currently in Newport, Rhode Island and will continue to visit sites across North America, including Miami Beach, Fla., The Blackfeet Nation in Montana, and Los Angeles, Calif. as they raise money and awareness to better protect migratory animals like the elephants.

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