P.M. Nandakumar hails from a typical agrarian family in Kalpetta, Wayanad. He is a government employ and a farmer conserver simultaneously. He has vast knowledge about all plants in and around his home, which includes medicinal plants and nutritious wild plant species. He is an environmental activist. Many species were conserved in Wayanad district through farmers with his initiatives. He conserves 148 species of plants including tubers and climbers in his field. His conservation area includes a scared grove and he expanded the area from 3 cent to 10 cent with 14 varieties of climbers, Chural (Calamus rotang Linn. Palmae), Kattupadavalam (Trichosanthes dioica), Nentranvalli (Bridelia stipularis), Paadavally (Cyclea peltata), Thodanvally (Derris scandens Benth), Vallipala (Tylophora indica) and so on. This area provides nesting and roosting space for native birds, migratory birds, various reptiles as cobra, common rat snake and animals like mongoose, civet cat and so on.
He is enthusiastic to grow the traditional varieties of plant in his field. He recreated a green place out of the barren land, that he had years ago, through a definite plan on preservation of various crop varieties with specified farming practises. Sri. Nandakumar mainly conserves bamboos; he conserves 19 varieties of bamboos includes Black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra), Buddha belly bamboo (Bambusa ventricosa) Guadua bamboo, (Guadua angustifolia), Golden yellow bamboo (Phyllostachys aureosulcata) and yellow bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris).
His conservation area consists of 50 varieties of trees and rare type of birds. He suggests that the bamboos helps to prevent landslides and soil erosion. He recommends that ‘walking bamboo’ is the best for the prevention of land slide and it naturally form a fence.
Many pits are made in his field to conserve the ground water. He cultivates vegetables for household uses and conserves 18 species of tubers including medical tubers. Adathappu (Dioscorea bulbifera), Gandhakasala kachil (Dioscorea alata), Kaduvakkayyan (Dioscorea alata), Parichakodan (Dioscorea alata), Thanivella (Dioscorea alata), Vellanaduneela (Dioscorea alata) and Wayanadan violet (Dioscorea alata) are a few significant varieties to mention.
The plantlets produced in the field are distributed to others to encourage and enhance conservation of biodiversity. He stated that this method is the best way to preserve the existing wild varieties and to encourage the diversity.