Sarasota's TREE Foundation director earns international honor for environmental innovation

Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·2 min read
Meg Lowman, executive director of the Sarasota-based TREE Foundation, receives the 2023 Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize from Vassilis Kaskarelis, former Ambassador of Greece to the United States.
Meg Lowman, executive director of the Sarasota-based TREE Foundation, receives the 2023 Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize from Vassilis Kaskarelis, former Ambassador of Greece to the United States.

Margaret (Meg) Lowman, executive director of the Sarasota-based TREE Foundation, has been awarded the 2023 Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize by the Tällberg Foundation in honor of her “scientific, educational and advocacy work globally to protect and restore forests.”

“Dr. Lowman is making an important contribution to changing the arc of the climate crisis through her science and her advocacy,” said Alan Stoga, chairman of the Tällberg Foundation. Lowman received the $50,000 award during the annual Aula Volta ceremony held on Jan. 26 at the University of Pavia in Italy.

Vassilis Kaskarelis, former Ambassador of Greece to the United States and current senior adviser to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, presented the award to Lowman, known internationally as "Canopy Meg."

Lowman pioneered the science and exploration of the "eighth continent" – forest canopies. Over 45 years, she has worked to protect mature trees and forests around the globe and support tree canopy research. Through the TREE Foundation, Lowman spearheaded the design and building of many canopy walkways and research stations throughout the U.S. and around the world.

Margaret Lowman – aka 'Canopy Meg' – has won the Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize for pioneering contributions to tree canopy research.
Margaret Lowman – aka 'Canopy Meg' – has won the Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize for pioneering contributions to tree canopy research.

In Florida, the Myakka State River Park’s canopy walkway has had a local economic impact of over $10 million annually and Canopy Meg has guided others in the fundraising and best practices for building canopy walkways in their communities.

Lowman was an early designer and user of tools for “arbornauts” – scientists, researchers and citizen scientists who climb trees, using everything from slingshots, ropes, and hot-air balloons, to canopy walkways and construction cranes to enable whole-tree exploration, not just the forest floor. In 2021, Lowman published a memoir, “The Arbornaut,” which chronicles her adventures as a female scientist and her dedication to mentoring girls in science. In 2020, Lowman launched “Mission Green,” an initiative of the TREE Foundation, which she co-founded in 1999.

Learn more about the TREE Foundation at treefoundation.org.

Submitted by Mary Catherine Coolidge

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota-based TREE Foundation director receives international award