I’m Mirali Shukla!

I'm Mirali Shukla and I am an interdisciplinary researcher, adventure enthusiast, and storyteller working in the biocultural conservation field. I hope to bridge the gap between the siloed approaches to conservation and combine social and biological sciences to create sustainable solutions. My goal is to engage collaborative research and storytelling for the protection of all species using multi-faceted, multi-stakeholder approaches. Right now, I am a postgraduate student at Nottingham Trent University researching how socioeconomic conflict affects animal behavior. I've been very lucky with past projects and have been to a quite a few polar regions! My last project focused on a collaboration with members of the Sámi community in Finland, Sweden, and Norway.

I love adventure and the alien landscape of the arctic, but what motivates me more than anything is the prospect of contributing to a collective that is making a difference in this world. The arctic is amazing because it is such an incredible landscape, with such diverse cultures. However, to me, being a ""Polar Explorer"" runs deeper than just the excitement of ice and exploration. It is the opportunity to really engage with a quickly changing place and get elbow deep in complex ecosystems and ethnosystems that are found nowhere else in the world!

I have been lucky enough to experience many places. I grew up in Southern California and have lived on Vancouver Island and on two of the Hawaiian islands since then. Most of my hobbies have been enjoying these places in as many ways as possible (which roughly translates to lots of water sports!). The first time I made a personal connection with polar exploration was through books and media. It was novelty that peaked my interest initially, but the more I read about the landscape, the more I became engrossed with the place, biodiversity, and people of the poles. Then, when I was able to experience it the first time, it was everything I had imagined and more.

My loved ones are excited about my work in the polar regions. I love being able to come back with stories to tell them of my discovery of far away landscapes that are so different to the Californian mountains where my family lives, or the island that my mom and I were born on, or the near-jungle landscape of my dad's upbringing. 

I am looking forward to continuing research into the implications of socioeconomic challenges on biodiversity and wildlife, in all shapes and forms! I hope that my work will make a difference to the people, wildlife, and ecosystems that I work in.

Lots of things inspire me. People who are able to make a tangible difference, people who venture into unknown territories, and people who are really passionate are a just a few. To anyone who wants to take the same career path as me (or something similar), I would advise them to pursue what they are interested in. Finding your niche takes time, but things tend to fall together if you keep at what you love!

Check out Mirali’s work at miralishukla.com, or follow her on Twitter/Instagram: @miralishukla