#81 - Devayani Khare on Earthly Matters: Where Geoscience Meets Storytelling

On Episode 81 of #LearningStories we chat with Devayani Khare. She is a communications consultant and geomorphologist. Through her career in communications, she has worked in fields as diverse as fundamental biology, translational research, biodiversity and conservation, and even as a travel writer. At present, she is an environmental advocacy communicator for an organisation called Break Free From Plastic. For the past 4 years, she has also been running a newsletter called Geosophy, that explores geoscience topics. She has always believed that landscapres contain clues to the past and present. You can find her on Linkedin and Substack.

Timestamps

(00:10) - Introduction and Background

(02:00) - Stories from your Childhood

(02:10) - "As a child, I guess I was just as wild and curious"

(02:20) - "My school campus was very far away from the city"

(03:10) - "The school was very experimental and hands on"

(03:40) - What are your earliest memories of learning geography in school?

(05:30) - What was your experience in high school?

(06:20) - "I did not study geography in 11th and 12th"

(06:40) - What subjects did you want to study in university?

(07:20) - When did you choose to specialize in geography?

(08:40) - What is involved in the study of geography at university?

(08:50) - "At the undergraduate level it is focused on human geography"

(09:20) - "At the master's level I studied geomorphology"

(10:30) - How do you define geography?

(11:20) - "Geography is a snapshot of everything related to landscapes"

(13:30) - How is geographical information used in a government and industry context?

(18:00) - What are some examples of geo heritage sites around the world?

(20:50) - What bodies regulate geological and geo heritage sites around India?

(23:00) - How to transition from academic to on the job learning?

(23:30) - "It was difficult to find jobs after my degree in Geography"

(25:00) - Working for the Western Ghats Biodiversity Portal in Pondicherry

(25:30) - "Communications was the common theme across all my jobs"

(28:00) - Job of a communications consultant on a day to day basis

(33:00) - What is the story behind the 'Geosophy' newsletter?

(39:00) - How do you research and write your essays and articles?

(40:10) - Writing about geo heritage sites in India

(42:50) - "Sometimes it takes me 10-20 hours of research for one piece"

(43:00) - "With geography there are no definite answers"

(45:00) - On the Lonar crater in Maharashtra

(45:30) - On the Gandikotta fort in Andhra Pradesh (see article linked below)

(48:30) - On the Geosophy Bookshelf and Book Recommendations

(51:40) - How to teach children Geography in our schools?

(56:30) - What have you learned and observed from your travels as a geomorphologist?

(1:01:00) - Closing Notes

Links

Devayani's Website - https://www.devayanikh.com/

Devayani on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/devayani-khare

Geosophy Newsletter Archives - https://substack.com/@geosophy/posts