Prithvi grew up in Bangalore and studied Anthropology and Environmental Studies prior to Conway. Gardening and travelling to different ecosystems are what initially sparked his curiosity and love for human-environment relationships outside the urban context. His experience across different parts of Southern India, Florida, Hawai’i and Massachusetts includes working at a tropical fruit tree nursery, creating organic gardens in schools, educating young people and designing landscapes across various scales. He is fascinated by all things plants, animals, food, culture and history.
V’s Conway Projects (click to view):
Fostering Resilience: Supporting Food Access and Production in Pittsfield, MA (Winter 2025)
Growing with Care: Ecological Designs for Nasami Farm Native Nursery (Spring 2025)
What were you doing before you applied to the Conway School?
Before attending Conway I was working at a non-profit that was creating gardens in elementary schools and providing hands-on outdoor education for their students and taking up some edible landscaping projects on the side.
What brought you to Conway?
I wanted to understand landscape design from an ecologically sensitive and whole systems perspective. I wanted new skill sets that would help me read the land and communicate my ideas effectively. I was also very eager to practice what I’ve learnt with real world projects/clients at different scales during the course.
How did you first learn about Conway?
My mentor had nudged me to look into landscape architecture and I found Conway through the internet.
Imagine we just met, and recognized we had common interests. How would you describe Conway to me?
The Conway experience is a practical, fast-paced and intense pursuit of understanding the different aspects of ecological design while using what you’ve learnt in the real world side-by-side. The program maintains a small class size, stays contemporary and has a great relationship with alumni and professors who are working in the field. You build a wide array of skills, make strong connections with like-minded people and watch yourself grow a lot throughout this program.
What advice do you have for someone just starting out in the field?
It really helped to reach out and talk to people in roles that seemed interesting to me, it answered a lot of questions I had about working in this field and these conversations even gave me the opportunity to shadow them. Making mistakes, reviewing them, asking for feedback and support are all great ways to grow and get better at what you do. Embrace that you will always be a learner. Always keep in mind that you are valuable and what you do is a need of the hour for the planet.
What are you doing right now, and what do you love about it?
I work for an ecological design firm called Ananas Design and our work is roughly divided into 3 parts: studying the land, designing masterplans and implementing our work on ground. On any given project, we work in groups of 2-4 and I am enjoying all the parts of our workflow. I really like that we are very thorough when studying the environment to inform our design. I really enjoy traveling to different parts of the country and learning about different bioregions. I love using different design tools and sketching by hand to convey my ideas. When it comes to implementing, I really enjoy planting biodiverse palettes of native plants, fruiting trees, creating earthworks, working with a fantastic team and clients who appreciate what we do.
What is your favorite tool?
Pruners to take cuttings, QGIS, procreate and more recently the Affinity suite.
How do you think ecological design and planning can help make positive change?
Personally, it has helped me develop a deeper understanding and respect for the rocks, soil, water, plants, animals and fungi that I share this planet with. In a more practical sense, ecological design and planning can help with a plethora of issues we are dealing with today. Including, but not limited to, conserving water, creating habitat for biodiversity, growing food without poison, addressing environmental justice issues, adapting to changing climates and advocating for the benefit of our environment at the policy level.
Which aspects of your Conway education do you use in your current work?
I follow much of the same design process I learnt at Conway. I am acutely aware of how water is flowing across sites and utilize the study of contours a lot when designing. I use a lot of the same digital design tools and present my work to clients in similar ways that I did at Conway.
What blogs or podcasts do you recommend?
Upstream, Blindboy Boatclub, Ologies, Poor Prole’s Almanac