Charles F. Rattigan – VINS Executive Director
I have a special affection for Dr. Margaret Lowman, Canopy Meg. Meg is an American biologist, educator, writer, and tireless advocate for trees, forests and their preservation. I first met her in 2010 when I was making field guide apps for smart devices (the iPhone). Meg was teaching an ornithology course in Sarasota and agreed to field test the app, Audubon Field Guide to North American Birds, with her students. It was a wonderful experience to test, with these young people, this completely new concept of conveying natural history information that included a library of song and calls and a well-conceived search function.
Over the years, we stayed in touch and she inspired me to seek out the canopy walk in Monteverdi Cloud Forest Biological Preserve in Costa Rica in 2013 when I was there. When I came to VINS in 2014, I knew that a canopy walk constructed in the VINS forest as an attraction and educational exhibit could have great appeal to visitors. Fast forward to October 2019, the VINS Forest Canopy Walk opened and it has been a great success. Canopy Meg came to give the keynote speech as way to thank staff and supporters of this effort.
Meg has written a new book, The Arbornaut, a compelling story that is part memoir, scientific exploration, and a call to preserve, indeed save, the earth’s remaining forests. I’m moved by her early childhood fascination with the natural world, her continuing curiosity, her energy, courage, and drive to make a difference across the global landscape. I’m inspired by her story, her humanity, and her optimism that we still have a chance to make an immediate and lasting impact against climate change by saving the earth’s remaining forested landscapes. If you love a good story, the natural world, need a call to action, and wish to be inspired, you will find this important story to be most wonderful.
The Arbornaut is available at the VINS Nature Store at:
bit.ly/the-arbornaut-by-meg-lowman