KERA’s (Dallas)  Krys Boyd recently interviewed tropical field biologist Meg Lowman ’76 on Boyd’s always fascinating “Think” program.

http://podcastdownload.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/77/510036/91173599/KERA_91173599.mp3

The interview ranges over a variety of topics, from Lowman’s creation of the first tree canopy walks (she was the force behind the one in Hopkins Memorial Forest), being an international field biologist, teaching (she is a professor at New College of Florida, where she teaches undergraduates), life as the single mother of two boys while working in the field, and women in science. More than anything, I was struck by how much her identity as a parent shapes her worldview and values. She and her sons (who are now in their early twenties, and destined for scientific careers of their own) have collaborated in writing about life growing up in a field scientist’s family.

Those of you who are at Williams for reunions can try out a canopy walk for yourselves tomorrow (assuming the rain stops):

Sat., 1:30 - 5 p.m.  Hopkins Forest: Visit the Treetops on the Canopy Walkway

The walkway is a pair of tree platforms set 70 ft. above the ground and originally used for research. Platforms are linked by a cable bridge and accessed via a wooden ladder. Participants are harnessed to safety cables, and aided by guides. Space limited; long waits possible; first come, first served; no children under 12.

(It’s safe, but a challenge if you have height anxieties. Even if you don’t ascend, it’s worth walking over to HMF just to look at the structure. There will be an open house in the forest at the same time, so you could stop in at HMF headquarters and see the museum of farm implements, buy some homemade maple syrup, and view some of the other exhibits. And if you are outdoorsy, don’t miss the bird walk and the hike, both of which are also on the main reunion schedule.)

Listening to the interview or seeing the canopy walk might interest you in reading Meg’s books for the layperson:

Life in the Treetops: Adventures of a Woman in Field Biology by Margaret D. Lowman (2000)

and

It’s a Jungle Up There: More Tales from the Treetops by Margaret D. Lowman, James Burgess, Edward Burgess, and Ghillean T. Prance (2006) (written with her sons)

Lowman has a website, canopymeg.com. Officialy, her title is Margaret D. Lowman, Ph.D., Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies and Director of Environmental Initiatives, New College of Florida, but, if one just adds “Mom,” the subtitle of her website encapsulates it rather nicely: “Author, Adventurer, Tropical Rain Forest Canopy Biologist.”  She is very much a proud product of  the  Williams Center for Environmental Studies, and the College has celebrated her accomplishments by honoring her with a Bicentennial Medal.

From May 31 through July 13, WCMA is showing works by the late Emily Driscoll ‘05, an exceptionally talented artist who died last fall. Here is the College’s press release on this well-deserved honor: http://www.wcma.org/press/08/08_Driscoll.shtml

Continued well wishes to her family, including her father Dave Driscoll ‘73 and her partner Walker Waugh ‘02.  Emily’s life was short but her accomplishments and impact were disproportionately large. May she rest in peace. 

If any of you who are going to reunions, are on campus for the summer, or otherwise happen to be in Williamstown and visit the exhibit, we would be grateful to hear more about it.

The class of ‘99 was sent a reminder for the 5 year reunion today. The meat of the e-mail is this:

Hello Class of ‘99!

Our class reunion website, produced by Josh Fincke, is up and running! Please take a moment to check it out at www.williams99.com.

If you are planning to attend our five-year reunion June 11 - 13th and have not yet sent in your RSVP card or have lost it, we still want you to be there! Just e-mail our reunion chair Laura Moberg at lmoberg@wso.williams.edu, and let her know that you will be attending and whether or not you’ll be bringing a guest. In the next couple of weeks you should receive a mailing with all of the registration and housing details for the reunion. In the meantime, the website should be able to address questions you may have regarding what the big weekend will be like.

The e-mail is then finished off with about twice as much text describing how we came to receive that e-mail, and the process by which we can elect to stop receiving said e-mails.

I am class of ‘99, but personally I won’t be attending this reunion. Not out of some protest but instead due to the fact that a plane ticket from here is going to be over $600-1000 and at this point I don’t think I can justify spending that much on the 5th. I would rather just give that money to a specific part of the school and have it better used that way.

I am sure that it will be a good time - I worked many alumni functions in the summers at Williams and witnessed just a small amount of the planning, effort, and (at a more abstract level) money that they put into it.