(l–r )John Hodge, Chapter chai r for the Explorers Club’s Greater Piedmont Chapter; Dr. Margaret Lowman; and Dr. Bill Vartorella, national board member. For canopy biologist Dr. Margaret Lowman many of the world’s problems can be solved not by chopping down trees, but by building bridges. She talked about her work in building these bridges – or walkways along the treetops – and in biodiversity at the October meeting of the Explorers Club’s Piedmont chapter. Lowman designed these walkways in 1985, when she helped build the world’s first canopy walkway in Queensland, Australia’s Lamington National Park.

Canopy walkways run through treetops at heights ranging from approximately 35 feet to 65 feet. And they tower over jungle floors along the equator at heights of up to 125 feet, as in the case of the Amazon.

Even as a girl growing up in Elmira, N.Y., Lowman played in tree houses and in treetops with her childhood friends. She still spends a lot of her time in treetops and still understands what exploration means to a child. “There’s something about natural history and exploring that kids are really excited about,” she said.

Lowman was able to share her adventures with her two sons, who often joined her on expeditions when they were growing up. Today, her motto is “no child left indoors.”

Lowman has been heavily involved in scientific education initiatives such as the Jason Project, a distance education program in which students are exposed to scientific exploration. She earned the nickname, “Canopy Meg,” from several of her students.

Lowman serves on the board of directors for the national Explorers Club and is the director of environmental initiatives and a professor of biology and environmental studies at New College of Florida in Sarasota. She has written

several books including Life

in the Treetops: Adventures

of a Woman in Field Biology

and It’s a Jungle Up There:

More Tales from the Treetops,

which she co–wrote with her two sons, Edward and James Burgess.

When Lowman isn’t writing or teaching in the U.S. she’s often teaching communities in tropical climates how to protect the biodiversity in their own backyard.

Lowman quoted some estimates as saying that approximately one– half of the world’s biodiversity is found in trees, which are natural habitats for insects. So much of Lowman’s work has been with insects, she said, because they’re a large part of tropical culture. For instance, people often get their medicines from the chemicals that leaf–eating insects produce.

But it’s often difficult for natives in the tropics to access their own natural resources. In an effort to give back to the environments Lowman often helps build canopy walkways that make nature easier to access and provide a source of ecotourism.

Samoa is one such place where a canopy walkway was an alternative to deforestation. The people felt like they had to choose between using lumber sales to raise the $53,000 needed to build a school and protecting the forest. Her team proposed the village build a canopy walkway that would fuel ecotourism.

Fifteen of the village chiefs met, along with other villagers, drank Kava, a sedating liquid from the Kava plant, and agreed later that day to have the walkway built.

Lowman also gives back by teaching people who live in the areas she researches.

Lowman helped teach the people of Cameroon, Africa, to recognize and farm orchids. She said this was a more sustainable choice for the natives than selling their timber that wasn’t providing them much income.

Lowman is also concerned with protecting her own community. She helped establish a canopy walkway in Myakka River State Park in Sarasota, Fla. in 1990.

But Lowman isn’t finished scouring the world’s treetops. “There are a lot of places we can find new things,” she said.

www.canopymeg.com