Join CanopyMeg for a life-changing expedition from the mouth of the Amazon towards the headwaters during April 4-20 2010. She will be co-leading a boat excursion in conjunction with The Explorers Club — participants will learn about canopy research, biodiversity, conservation, and medicinal plants along the way — for full prices and details, please phone the toll-free number in this attachment. View PDF .

As part of the 5th International Canopy Conference 2009 (and its subsequent publications), co-chair Meg Lowman is compiling a comprehensive history of canopy access. If you have any special methods that you invented or pioneered, stories worth telling (and re-telling), equipment that deserves recognition, inventions that facilitated improved canopy research, or other notable tales and fables, please email Meg with details so you will be included in this documentation:

canopymeg@gmail.com

5/11/09 Update: This is the last call to organize a symposia at the 5th International Canopy Conference being organized by ATREE on “Forest canopies : Conservation, Climate change and Sustainable use” during 25th – 31st October 2009, Bangalore, India, The deadlines for organizing a symposium have been extended from 3rd April 2009 to 20th May 2009, and please find the guidelines on http://canopy2009.org/html/sub2.html

The call for abstracts is open for contributed oral and poster abstracts, and guidelines can be found on http://canopy2009.org/html/sub3.html and http://canopy2009.org/html/sub4.html respectively.

Social events at the conference include a Canopy Art exhibition, Canopy Photo and Film festival and public lectures along with other traditional events.

Please find more information on www.canopy2009.org, and forward this to your colleagues to make this conference a success.

2/16/09 Update: The theme for this conference is Forest Canopies: Conservation, Climate Change and Sustainable Use. The conference program will include keynote and plenary speakers on critical topics, invited and contributed scientific symposia, methods workshops, a student symposium, poster sessions, field trips, a film festival and traditional canopy social events

You can now visit www.canopy2009.org for more information and please forward to your colleagues. ATREE invites you to present your work at the conference. Your active participation will help meet global challenges and make this conference a success. Dr. Meg Lowman is co-chairing this international event.

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SAVE THESE DATES!!!!!

5^th International Canopy Conference 2009
Forest Canopies: Conservation, Climate Change, and Sustainable Use
October 25-31 2009 Bangalore INDIA

Download the brochure

Forest canopies are the least explored habitats in the world. They not only support high terrestrial biodiversity, but also represent a critical interface between the atmosphere and the earth. Forest canopies also provide goods and services to support diverse human activities. Thus interactions between forests and humanity offer opportunities to explore sustainable use of such resources, particularly for sustaining local livelihoods. Sustainability is vital for environmental policies to foster conservation, sustainable use and mitigation/adaptation to climate change. This demands the integration of canopy science with physical science, social science and information technology.

The 5^th international canopy conference in 2009 will bring diverse professionals together to build inter-disciplinary links in canopy science to foster increased understanding of this unique subset of forest ecosystems. ATREE (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment) is the major supporting institution for the conference, with Convenors Dr. Soubadra Devy (soubadra@atree.org) and Dr. T. Ganesh (tganesh@atree.org). Dr. Kamal Bawa and Dr. Margaret Lowman will serve as co-chairs. The goal of the conference will be to highlight the respect to important global challenges, especially climate change, sustainability, and conservation. The conference will provide an opportunity to build networks across continents, to facilitate capacity-building, and to address issues requiring information from multiple sites, within countries and across continents. The proceedings of the conference will be published in an edited volume, with a subset of papers published as a special issue of an international journal. Special sessions will be held on: Education; Climate Change; Ecosystem Services and Sustainability Initiatives; Innovative Tools; and an Emerging Issues Round Table discussion.

Special features of the conference include:

• All-day field trip to view Indian forests and inspire discussion
• Canopy film festival (similar to the successful programs from the 1^st conference)
• Canopy awards ceremony
• Student session
• Publiclecture to promote canopy education
• Opening Plenary talk by Thomas E. Lovejoy, President, H. John Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment

Save these dates! A timeline leading up the conference will be:

1. Call for symposia - January 2009
2. Call for abstracts - March 2009
3. Registration by 10 April 2009
4. More information will be posted on www.atree.org

Please contact Soubadra or Ganesh (emails above) with suggestions for speakers that may represent new, unpublished, innovative canopy projects around the globe.

TREE Foundation is proud to announce a new project linking kids to nature for Southwest Florida. The TREE treehouse will be built at Crowley Nature Reserve (exit on Fruitville Road off Interstate 75) as soon as the fund-raising is completed. This “kids-dream-come-true” will feature natural materials, an eagle’s nest upper view spot, environmental educational hands-on activities inside and out, and construction amidst native Florida forest vegetation. TREE Foundation and Crowley Board of Directors are proud to co-sponsor the TREE treehouse, and encourage all local families, philanthropists, and businesses to become part of this special legacy to the next generation of Floridians. Our motto is “a treehouse for every child….” and if successful, this model may be replicated in other neighborhoods.

You can make a pledge and be part of this exciting project.  Just click on the graphic above to view a printable PDF version of the pledge card.  You can then fill it out and mail it, along with your check, to:
TREE Foundation
P.O. Box 48839
Sarasota, FL 34230-5839

or

donate online using PayPal:

As Meg Lowman explained in her Nature’s Secrets column, treehouses serve several important biological functions for children who are fortunate enough to experience them:

Treehouses exemplify biophilia, an important term coined by E.O. Wilson that reflects our innate human desire to connect with the natural world. In an evolutionary sense, humans descended from ancestors in the treetops. Anyone who pauses at the zoo to watch a monkey cavorting in the branches is amused, inspired and subtly reminded of something inside that tugs on our evolutionary memory banks.

Treehouses also bring kids into contact with the hotspots of the forest — flowers, new leaves, pollinators, birds, arboreal mammals and millions of beetles. The essence of energy from sunlight all converges in this region high above the forest floor.

Third, canopies undoubtedly produce the purest air on the planet, emanating fresh from greenery that transforms carbon dioxide into useful energy. Oxygen is just one of the byproducts of this important process of photosynthesis. Just as patients appreciate plants in hospitals, perhaps kids benefit from the clean, fresh atmosphere enveloping a treehouse.

Fourth, treehouses are safe sanctuaries in a world of chaos and technology, and elicit the creative energy of youth. (And don’t overlook the fact that they make cozy spots for sleep-overs with best friends!)

From New College News:

Professor of Biology and Director of Environmental Initiatives at New College Meg Lowman, a.k.a. “Canopy Meg,” will speak at United Nations Association, Sarasota-Manatee Chapter, on March 24 at 6:00 pm. Professor Lowman will be joined by Dr. Eugenie “the Shark Lady” Clark. The event is entitled “Two Women: Two Extraordinary Scientists” and will be held at the Herald Tribune Building, 1741 Main Street, in the first floor Community Room.

For more information, please contact Catherine Seress at (941) 928-1187. Please note that searing is limited.

From the Venice Area Audubon Society:

Dr. Meg Lowman to Speak at VAAS Dinner
Topic: Conservation for the Next Generation

The Venice Area Audubon Society is privileged to have the renowned scientist Dr. Meg Lowman speak at the VAAS fundraising dinner Sunday, March 15th at 5:00 PM at the Crossroads American Grille.
Dr. Lowman has recently returned from speaking at the Ecological Society of Australia Conference in Sydney, Australia, where she was interviewed by ABC Radio National. During the interview she dicussed the mysterious world of the canopy and remarked that over half of the life on earth lives in the tops of trees which includes millions of insects and thousands of birds. Dr. Lowman stressed the urgency to uncover the secrets of the rain forest before we lose the forests.

More info and sign up form PDF

From New College News:

Sarasota, FL, March 4, 2009 — New College of Florida invites you to “feel the heat” on March 17, when the College welcomes Harvard-trained marine biologist-turned-filmmaker Randy Olson to campus for a special discussion and showing of his latest movie, Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy. The event, which will be held at New College’s Harry Sudakoff Center starting at 7:00 pm., is open to the public. Reservations are recommended. Tickets are $5 for the general public; free for New College faculty, students and staff with their New College ID.

Noted for his satirically critical examination of hot button scientific and environmental issues, Olson, who received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1984 and gave up a tenured professorship at the University of New Hampshire to attend USC and become a filmmaker, is often as critical of scientists poor communications’ skills as he is of the zealous critics of evolution and global warming who regularly make their way into the news. His film Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2006 and received critical acclaim. Eventually, it was picked up by Showtime and is currently available on DVD around the world.

Olson’s most recent film, Sizzle, tackles the controversy over global warming. It premiered in July 2008 and is currently being shown at film festivals and on college campuses around the country. Its airing at New College is the only current screening in Florida.

During his visit to New College, Olson will discuss the making of Sizzle, as well as his belief that scientists and researchers must do a better job of communicating with the general public. According to Olson, the scientific community’s inability to clearly present their arguments to the public often results in too much time being wasted responding to PR campaigns waged by fringe groups and too little time actually being spent seeking solutions to critical issues facing our planet.

Olson is being brought to Sarasota by Mote Marine Laboratory, as the final guest speaker in their annual Special Lecture Series, sponsored by Robert and Jill Williams. Olson’s lecture at Mote Marine will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 16, in Mote’s Immersion Cinema, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota. That lecture, on his new book Don’t Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style, is open to the public. Mote also will show Olson’s award-winning film, Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus, in the Immersion Cinema throughout the weekend of March 14-15. Showings of Flock of Dodos will be free for Mote Aquarium visitors with their paid admission. For lecture seating reservations at Mote or more information, please visit www.mote.org/lecture or call 941-388-4441, ext. 369.

For reservations to hear Randy Olson’s talk at New College and to view his new film Sizzle on March 17, please contact New College Special Events Coordinator Greg Hite at (941) 487-4155 or email events@ncf.edu. For media inquiries, please contact either Aimee Chouinard at New College of Florida (941-487-4152) or Nadine Slimak at Mote Marine (941-388-4441, ext. 417).

The Joel and Ellen Fedder Lecture Series of the TREE Foundation presents: “Charles Darwin at 200: The Concise Story of An Extraordinary Man” by Tim Berra

On Wednesday, February 4, 2009, New College will host the third lecture in the New Topics series. Professor Tim Berra, professor emeritus of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology at the Ohio State University, will discuss the life and legacy of Charles Darwin. The event will take place at the Mildred Sainer Pavilion and begins at 7:00 pm. (Address: 5313 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota, FL, 34243 - Campus Map)

Berra is the author of over 75 scientific papers and six books, including Evolution and the Myth of Creationism and A Natural History of Australia. His latest book, Charles Darwin: The Concise Story of an Extraordinary Man, will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press in November 2008 and features 60 black and white illustrations and 16 color plates.

Sponsored by New College of Florida and Joel and Ellen Fedder Lecture Series of the TREE Foundation, the series pairs prominent national speakers with New College faculty for stimulating discussions on relevant topics of our time. The final program is entitled Crystal Balling the Economy” and will be held on March 11.

New Topics New College is the successor to the New College Foundation’s successful Hot Topics series, which started on campus in 2004. The series sponsor for this year’s programming is once again U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management. The Fedder Lecture Series of the TREE Foundation is also underwriting the lecture on Charles Darwin.

You may view the complete program at http://www.ncf.edu/new-topics-new-college/2008-2009-program.

Tickets are $15. The event is free for New College faculty, students and staff. The For more information and to reserve tickets, contact Greg Hite, special events coordinator, at (941) 487-4155 or events@ncf.edu

Links:

• New College Lecture series schedule
• Dr. Tim Berra
• Dr. Meg Lowman
• Mildred Sainer Pavilion

Source: http://www.ncf.edu/news/?p=1091

Darwin cake at the event:

Discover the wonders of Florida’s forest canopy on Friday, December 26 during a nature walk at Myakka River State Park. Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies Dr. Meg Lowman and her family will teach you about the work of an ecologist and the study of living organisms and their interaction with the environment both high and low from 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Walkers will then enjoy a guided tour of canopy methods.

Myakka is one of the state’s oldest and largest parks, protecting 58 square miles of wetlands, prairies, hammocks and pinelands, as well as the officially designated “Wild and Scenic” Myakka River.

Space for this walk is unlimited. Participants should wear comfortable walking shoes that can get wet, and bring a light jacket, hat, sun screen, insect repellent, and drinking water. Camera, hand lens or binoculars are suggested but all optional.

Participants should meet in the parking lot of Myakka’s canopy walkway. Myakka River State Park is located approximately six miles east of I-75 off Clark Road (S.R. 72). Myakka State Park rangers at the front gate can direct cars to the walkway parking lot. There is a park entry fee.

For more information about this or other nature walks, contact the Sarasota County Call Center at 941-861-5000 and ask for Natural Resources.

Dr. Meg Lowman is scheduled to speak at the 33rd ESA Annual Conference in Sydney, Australia on December 2nd.  Additional information can be found at the ESA 08 website:
http://www.ecolsoc.org.au/conference/esa08/