“Life in the Treetops- Exploration of Tropical Rainforest Canopies”
Thursday, November 9, 7:30 pm
Atherton Union, Reilly Room
BCR Credit and Co-Curricular Event
“I climb trees for a living,” says Margaret Lowman, better known as “Canopy Meg” (www.canopymeg.com). Dubbed the “real-life Lorax” by National Geographic, Lowman has earned an international reputation as a pioneer in forest canopy ecology, canopy plant-insect relationships and devising ingenious canopy access methods to explore this “eighth continent”, home to about half of life on earth.
Lowman will speak about her discoveries of biodiversity in forest canopies and take the audience on a global tour to some of the forest canopy hotspots wehre she conducts long-term research and educational programs.
Equipped with degrees in biology and ecology and a Ph.D. in botany, Lowman developed her childhood interest in building tree forts into mapping canopy biodiversity worldwide and spearheading the construction of North America’s first canopy walkway. Over the years, she has used science education to influence government policy and encourage environmental stewardship. Included among her many outreach initiatives are large-scale, distance-learning programs; newspaper columns; science books for both technical and public audiences; and nature camps for disadvantaged youth. Since 2010, she has been based at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences where she is director of their new Nature Research Center and professor at North Carolina State University. She also serves as executive director of the non-profit TREE Foundation.
“One of the biggest issues facing the next generation is keeping our kids linked to nature,” says Lowman, a sentiment reflected in her latest book, It’s a Jungle Up There (2006), written with her two sons.
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