Basanti Devi is an environmentalist from Uttarakhand. She was married and widowed at a very young age. However, she continued to learn and eventually became a teacher. Basanti’s interest in environmentalism began after she read about the slow drying up of the Kosi River. She started campaigns and programmes to create awareness about deforestation and enrolled villagers as volunteers to fight forest fires. Basanti’s work has helped rejuvenate several springs in the region and bring back biodiversity to Uttarakhand’s forests.