Mon 26 Nov 2007
This week I have been down in Florida, visiting my parents for Thanksgiving. A few days ago, while visiting the Myakka Canopy Walkway, I was surprised to find not one, but two Williams connections!
First, on a map listing worldwide locations of forest canopy walkways, Hopkins Forest in Williamstown, MA was on the list. I always enjoyed looking for the canopy walkway while running in Hopkins Forest; it was nearly impossible to see in the fall and spring, but in the winter when the trees had no leaves, it was clearly there in the treetops. For those who haven’t seen it, you’ll find it on the gradual side of the lower loop. (By contrast, the other canopy walkway I have been on, in the cloud forest of Costa Rica, did not make the list — somehow Hopkins Forest precedes the jungle.)
Second, the project was partly financed by dedications of planks and columns, and a plaque on one of the columns read, “Robert and Lucy Beck, Williams ‘75.” I was happy to see that.
November 26th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
What a coincidence. Just this weekend, I caught part of a radio interview (probably on NPR) with Meg Lowman ‘76, who is largely responsible for Williams having that canopy walk. Meg is an expert on canopy walks and on using them in doing field work. She teaches in Florida (at New College, I think) and may well have been instrumental in the walk Diana saw. I found a cite to a 2000 NPR segment in which Meg apparently talks about the Florida walk at
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1079864
but I haven’t been able to open it yet (the technology seems to have changed since 2000). I don’t whether it was the end of that piece that I heard. It sounded as though Meg might have a new book out (but maybe that was why she was being interviewed in 2000, and I was listening to the 2000 piece without knowing it).
The Williams connection may actually be the reason that the Florida and Massachusetts walks were mentioned on the website Diana saw but not the Costa Rica one, as the former two appparently are connected through Meg’s work.
Anyway, the canopy walks are well worth exploring, as is Meg’s pioneering work using them in her research.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
With some difficulty, I opened that six minute 2000 npr segment. Here is the archives description (you may have more luck opening it if you search for it — lowman canopy worked for me — on the npr site):
All Things Considered, July 23, 2000 · WGCU Reporter Amy Tardif takes listeners on a tour of North America’s only public tree canopy walkway, located in Myakka River State Part in Sarasota, Florida.
It was worth listening, and it wasn’t the same piece as I heard this weekend. So perhaps I can find and share the latter and, even better, perhaps Meg has written another book.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
http://www.canopymeg.com/
… all because of a girl who loved to climb trees when she was little.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Here’s the new book, co-written with her sons:
It’s a Jungle Up There : More Tales from the Treetops
by Margaret D. Lowman, Edward Burgess, and James Burgess; With a Foreword by Sir Ghillean R. Prance
.
A sequel to Life in the Treetops, Margaret Lowman’s first award-winning book, It’s a Jungle Up There continues the adventures of a pioneering scientist juggling family and career. Lowman weaves her messages about tropical rain forest exploration, conservation, and science education into the challenges of raising two sons. Now teenagers, Edward and James Burgess join her as co-authors, bringing their perspectives of growing up with a scientist-mom. Their explorations integrate science investigation with clear messages about family values.
November 28th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
Mm, Meg Lowman is a pioneer in this area and I think even gave a tour to Prince Philip (maybe it was Charles, the Prince of Wales) about her work. I’ve read Life in the Treetops and it’s pretty good. She was always very enthusiastic and full of energy at Williams, and it’s nice to see that energy channeled into highlighting an area that few have thought about (the life in treetops above the ground).