Meg Lowman, 2009 WINGS Elected Fellow

"Cultivate (and enjoy) your five senses - they are key to having fun, and also to survival!" — Meg Lowman

Canopy Ecologist

Born: 1953-01-01

Hometown: Elmira, NY

Education: PhD in Botany

Achievements

Discoveries: Discovering a new species of beetle in the Amazon treetops; building canopy walkways so that indigenous people can earn income from eco-tourism, not logging; tropical tree leaves live up to 20 years!

Expeditions: Hot air ballooning to survey biodiversity in Cameroon, Africa; Jason expedition, broadcasting via satellite to 3 million kids from the Amazon treetops; climbing almost every tree in Australia (it seemed!)

Biography

Meg Lowman was a James Martin Fellow at the Tropical Forestry Center of the Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University during Spring 2010. She is working on a book for University of California Press about Forest Canopy Monitoring, and also working with the team of forest ecologists in UK.  Meg had a paper published in Science Magazine about science education in American, featuring the new NEON (National Ecological Observatory Network) program. She heads to Ethiopia during August 2010, funded by National Geographic, to sample biodiversity in the church forests of Ethiopia and also to create a conservation program for this important green places.

Meg Lowman pioneered the science of canopy ecology. For 30 years, she has designed hot-air balloons and walkways for treetop exploration to solve mysteries in the world's forests, with special expertise on the links between insect pests and ecosystem health. Meg is affectionately called the grandmother of canopy research, as one of the first scientists to explore this "eighth continent." She works relentlessly to "map" the canopy for biodiversity and to champion forest conservation in Florida, as well as around the world. Her academic training included Williams College (BA, Biology); Aberdeen University (MSc, Ecology); Sydney University (PhD, Botany); and Tuck School of Business (Executive Management).

Meg facilitates policy solutions using science education as a tool, drawing upon a lifetime of research and conservation. Her international network and passion for science have led her into leadership roles where she seeks best practices to solve environmental challenges. She currently serves as Vice President of The Explorers Club; Vice President of the Ecological Society of America; Treasurer of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation; Executive Director of Florida's TREE Foundation; and Cluster Chair for the Sarasota Economic Development Corporation. She frequently speaks about her science adventures to groups ranging from elementary classes to corporate executives to international conferences. Her numerous awards include the Margaret Douglas Medal for Excellence in Conservation Education from the Garden Club of America; Girls Inc. Visionary Award; Mendel Medal for achievements in science and spirit; Lowell Thomas Medal for discoveries in the canopy; and election as a Kilby laureate and an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow. Carolyn Shoemaker of the US Department of Interior named an asteroid after her. Meg has authored over 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications, and her first book, "Life in the Treetops," received a cover review in the New York Times Sunday Book Review. Working tirelessly on sustainability initiatives at home and abroad, she recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Conservation from Sarasota County.


"Canopy Meg" is currently Director of Environmental Initiatives and Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at New College of Florida. She also serves as the Science Advisor for Climate Change to Florida's CFO, Alex Sink. Previously she has served as CEO of The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at Williams College, and co-managed a sheep and cattle station in outback Australia. Meg is married to attorney Michael Brown. They are the proud parents of Eddie, research associate at Environmental Defense working on urban environmental policy; and James, applied math major at Princeton University who is modeling forests as global carbon sinks. Reflecting her love for linking kids to nature, Meg's personal mantra is no child left indoors.

Fun Facts

Favorite Item to have in the field: Oreo cookies, water and more water, headlamp, my most cushiony climbing harness

Heroes: Harriet Tubman who navigated the Underground Railway by feeling moss on the backs of trees in the dark, Rachel Carson who saved our songbirds, and my two boys for being such great spirited tree climbers