Bindiya Rashni - Fellow Exchange Program

Bindiya has embraced this international exchange opportunity because she firmly believes that “exposure to people can contribute knowledge”, and her passion for tropical forest landscapes, studying tropical freshwater ecosystems and facilitating their restoration is shared by her scientific mentors. Her interactions during the fellowship with forest managers, university research collaborators, State & Private Forestry staff, artists, and other scientists took her to coastal wetlands, riparian corridors, community managed forests, national and experimental forests, plus many springs, streams, rivers, and mountain peaks. The exchange program began with a week in Hawaii, continued with the main fellowship exchange where she spent a month in Puerto Rico, and finalized with a week in the Forest Service Washington D.C. Office. While she is used to traveling around the world conducting science as the Freshwater Biodiversity Observation Network (FWBON) regional coordinator for freshwater ecosystems in Oceania/South Pacific, this fellowship has allowed her to explore new ecosystems from ridge-to-reef in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, where ongoing research is being led by Forest Service scientists. Spending quality time in the field collecting algae samples, writing the latest draft of a review manuscript, participating in outreach activities at community forests, or simply sharing lunch with colleagues all make up parts of this unique fellowship - where developing personal bonds are encouraged as a complement to the scientific collaboration. Research cannot be conducted in a vacuum and building networks for tropical forest researchers provides logistical support, validation, and encouragement for early career scientists through experiences like this IFF exchange program. In addition to being exposed to the tropical archipelago ecosystems and communities of Hawaii and Puerto Rico, Bindiya also met the program officers that manage the International Forestry Fellowship at the Forest Service Washington D.C. offices.

However, aside from the important academic affinities, sharing an inclusive approach to science is one of the core principles that Bindiya espouses, which is clearly demonstrated by the research and outreach approaches employed in her extensive work with indigenous communities in Fiji. Thanks to her family’s experience with agriculture, she has developed the sensibility to value the traditional ecological knowledge of communities in Fiji and across the Pacific Islands, which is based on years of observation and practice that represent an invaluable source of information to academic scientists. As a freshwater scientist with a passion for promoting sustainable practices that can provide livelihood to the communities of the Pacific Islands, she has developed multiple tools for the biomonitoring of freshwater ecosystems that are purposefully designed to be accessible to the general public.