Hello! My name is Nayanika and I recently graduated from the University of British Columbia (2019) with a focus in Geographic Information Systems and Cartography. I am currently pursuing an AD.Tech in Geographic Information Systems from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (2021 – Present).
My love for the environment began on a trekking trip in the Himalayas as a 10 year old. Camping at 12,000 feet above sea level, surrounded by the most majestic of mountains – I was awestruck by the sheer scale and the breathtaking beauty of it all. Ironically, on our trek downhill we encountered a landslide that the locals attributed to the construction of a massive dam for a hydroelectric project. I was too young to connect the dots but this incident remained in the recesses of my young mind. Inspired and nourished by a regular diet of National Geographic magazines, between the covers of which I discovered a whole new world, my curiosity turned to respect and concern for the environment. My exposure to the outdoors from an early age, which included a 2000 km road trip across Kenya, dining in a ‘yurt’ in the Mongolian grasslands and climbing volcanoes in Indonesia, helped forge a strong bond with nature. A snorkeling trip off the Mombasa coast added another dimension to this and led me to SCUBA diving. In 2012, I completed my PADI Open Water Certification in the Philippines and later did the Advanced Open Water Course in Bali. Having dived in the Philippines before and after the devastating typhoon Haiyan, I was able to see for myself the havoc wrecked not just on land but also the near total destruction of marine eco systems around the islands. I continue to actively pursue diving and have completed my Dry Suit, Nitrox and Deep Sea Diver Specialities.
Growing up in India and having spent the last 7 years in China – two of the world’s largest populations and fastest growing economies, I have had a front row seat to the unfolding drama of rapid development. This has inspired me to take up GIS to examine the relationship between spatial phenomenons. To me GIS is an exciting and rapidly changing field that makes a difference on our planet and to its people. It is an incredibly powerful platform that can help key decisions about wildlife and biodiversity, human health, climate change, water quality and availability, and much more.
Here you will mostly find my GIS and Cartographic works from my courses at UBC and BCIT as well as some other projects I have taken on beyond academics.