Terra Conscious is a marine and coastal conservation based social enterprise; they work
towards empowering the local community through responsible nature based experiences,
conservation travel itineraries and integrated environmental education programs conducted
through community partnerships. With a vision to mainstream responsible tourism in Goa,
Terra Conscious is an effort by Puja Mitra and Roshan Gonsalves. As a social enterprise
their mission is to maximize environmental and social impact. Through their travel experiences, they
support social impact work that focuses on creating awareness about conservation issues, building
capacity of various stakeholders at the grassroots level for sustainable livelihoods and conservation
action.
It was because of Puja’s goodwill that Terra Conscious offered to take our Green Champion finalists
and our Tuition kids for a wonderful Dolphin watching and Mangrove exploration excursion. Eight of
our kids along with six adults reached Sinquerim Jetty, Aguada in Candolim at 07:00am for the ride.
Puja and Marishia explained to our children about the Indian Hump Back Dolphin, about the marine
wildlife, mangrove and different birds that we saw during our ride. The kids were super enthusiastic
and curious to know so much about nature; they also managed to spot dolphins and jelly fishes in the
sea. The children learned about the importance of protecting our mother earth. Terra conscious
offered our children with cookies, watermelon and oranges on the boat. The kids learned about the
negative impact of throwing garbage into the water bodies, and why it is important to incorporate
sustainable tourism. At the end of the tour children were given a poster which had information about
the Hump Back dolphin they learned about during the tour. It was a memorable and lovely excursion
by team Terra Conscious.