Dr Marselin R Almeida And Sara

Green Teacher Award (2009)

For nurturing, guiding and shaping young minds to explore and understand the mysterious world of plants. 

For four decades and more, this remarkable husband and wife team have meticulously documented, studied and taught botany. Many of their students are now renowned botanists in their own right and this, according to this husband and wife team, is their greatest reward. Acknowledged to be two of India’s most respected plant specialists, both Marselin and Sarah have incalculably furthered systematic botany and taxonomy by identifying and naming over 350 plant species, apart from the individual plant discoveries they have made. Hundreds of published papers, books and documents are testament to the legacy they have left for India and the world. This baseline data is likely to help future land managers to negotiate India’s perilous path through the minefield of climate change.

The zestful duo works closely with the Bombay Natural History Society, the Blatter Herbarium of St. Xavier’s College, the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and the International Society for Traditional Medicine (ISTAM), among other institutions. Now retired, they live even busier lives guiding and shaping the future of the countless students who seek them out.