Margaret D. Lowman

Margaret D. Lowman, Ph.D. a.k.a "Canopy Meg" received a B.A. with honors in biology and environmental studies from Williams College (1976), M.S. in ecology from Aberdeen University (1978), and Ph.D. in botany from the University of Sydney (1983). Dr. Lowman's expertise involves canopy ecology, canopy plant-insect relationships, and constructing canopy walkways.

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Research

Meg Lowman has authored over 70 peer-reviewed publications and several books including Life in the Treetops (1999) and It's a Jungle Up There (2006). From 1978-1989 Dr. Lowman lived in Australia and worked on canopy research in rain forests and dry forests. She was instrumental in determining the cause of Eucalypt Dieback Syndrome in Australia, and worked with forest conservation and regeneration. Meg taught at Williams College in Massachusetts, pioneering many aspects of forest canopy research. During her time there she spearheaded the construction of the first canopy walkway in North America.

Organizations

In 1999 Dr. Lowman became the Executive Director of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Florida where she helped raise donations over 100 percent and increased membership by "friend-raising". The Selby Garden's lecture series "Tuesdays In The Tropics" was well attended by the community with topics such as "Does Money Grow on Trees? Challenges of Rain Forest Conservation". With a change in the board's botanical emphasis and Selby Gardens' role in a scandal involving scientific dishonesty, Dr. Lowman left Selby Gardens to teach at New College of Florida in Sarasota. The Center for Canopy Ecology relocated from Selby Gardens to New College following Dr. Lowman.

Canopy access

Dr. Lowman has developed an expertise for using different canopy access techniques such as slingshot fired ropes, hot air balloons with sleds, canopy cranes, and canopy walkways. In 2000 the Myakka River State Park canopy walkway opened after a 1997 proposal from Dr. Lowman. It includes a walkway through Florida Oak-Palm Hammock and a tower that reveals a "sea of green" above the treetops. It has given visitors a view of the trees that changes people's perspective on the importance of forest conservation.

Publications

Dr. Lowman believes in conservation through education which is a very strong theme in her most recent book "It's a Jungle Up There". She has been involved in several "Jason Projects" and numerous other conservation education initiatives. Her books on canopy ecology are not just about her field work but add dimensions in what its like to be a woman in a male dominated profession, and what its like to be a single parent mom. Her sons co-author Its a Jungle Up There and add their insights on how their mother's career and their family not only existed, but thrived.

References

• Lowman, Margaret D. 1999. Life in the Tree Tops. New Haven: Yale University Press.
• Lowman, Margarent D. 2006. It's a Jungle Up There. New Haven: Yale University Press.