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Title details for The Arbornaut by Meg Lowman - Available

The Arbornaut

A Life Discovering the Eighth Continent in the Trees Above Us

by Meg Lowman
Sylvia A. Earle
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available

This program includes a preface read by Meg Lowman and a foreword written and read by Sylvia Earle.
Nicknamed the "Real-Life Lorax" by National Geographic, the biologist, botanist, and conservationist Meg Lowman—aka "CanopyMeg"—takes us on an adventure into the "eighth continent" of the world's treetops, along her journey as a tree scientist, and into climate action

"Narrator Christina Delaine uses her beautiful deep voice and varied tones to channel Lowman's joy in the natural world and frustrations with the academic glass ceiling." —AudioFile Magazine
Welcome to the eighth continent!
As a graduate student exploring the rain forests of Australia, Meg Lowman realized that she couldn't monitor her beloved leaves using any of the usual methods. So she put together a climbing kit: she sewed a harness from an old seat belt, gathered hundreds of feet of rope, and found a tool belt for her pencils and rulers. Up she went, into the trees.
Forty years later, Lowman remains one of the world's foremost arbornauts, known as the "real-life Lorax." She planned one of the first treetop walkways and helps create more of these bridges through the eighth continent all over the world.
With a voice as infectious in its enthusiasm as it is practical in its optimism, The Arbornaut chronicles Lowman's irresistible story. From climbing solo hundreds of feet into the air in Australia's rainforests to measuring tree growth in the northeastern United States, from searching the redwoods of the Pacific coast for new life to studying leaf eaters in Scotland's Highlands, from conducting a BioBlitz in Malaysia to conservation planning in India and collaborating with priests to save Ethiopia's last forests, Lowman launches us into the life and work of a field scientist, ecologist, and conservationist. She offers hope, specific plans, and recommendations for action; despite devastation across the world, through trees, we can still make an immediate and lasting impact against climate change.
A blend of memoir and fieldwork account, The Arbornaut gives us the chance to live among scientists and travel the world—even in a hot-air balloon! It is the engrossing, uplifting story of a nerdy tree climber—the only girl at the science fair—who becomes a giant inspiration, a groundbreaking, ground-defying field biologist, and a hero for trees everywhere.
A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 10, 2021

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781250804587
      • File size: 444146 KB
      • Duration: 15:25:18

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Meg Lowman is a trailblazer who rigs up her own tree-climbing gear to explore treetops and insects. She has also built aerial walkways through the canopies that are wheelchair accessible. Narrator Christina Delaine uses her beautiful deep voice and varied tones to channel Lowman's joy in the natural world and frustrations with the academic glass ceiling. Delaine excels with the Lowman's quirky stories; for example, of hiding scientific journals inside WOMAN'S WEEKLY magazines so her mother-in-law doesn't think she's neglecting her wifely duties. More difficult is keeping the energy flowing through the descriptions of myriad scientific studies, and Delaine's slow pacing impedes comprehension. But those who listen will certainly look at trees and leaves more carefully after doing so. A.B. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 12, 2021
      Conservationist Lowman (Life in the Treetops: Adventures of a Woman in Field Biology) takes a passionate look at the “unexplored wonderland” of trees in this vivid survey of life among forest canopies. Over half of all land creatures live “about one hundred feet or more above our heads,” Lowman writes, and notes that, historically, information about trees has focused from “trunk-level,” despite the fact that the dark ground is vastly different from the sun-filled canopy. A self-professed “arbornaut,” Lowman recounts research experiences high in the foliage in Australia, where she studied leaves; India, where she learned about the canopies above endangered tigers; and Scotland, where she got her start as a master’s student in ecology. She offers snapshots of her childhood—born in Upstate New York, she collected wildflowers, twigs, bird nests, stones, and feathers—and mentions the difficulties she has faced as a woman working in field biology. Lowman shines in her ability to combine accessible science with exciting personal anecdotes that effectively convey the “thrill of aerial exploration” and bolster her case that trees—and sustainable ecosystems—are worth studying, protecting, and preserving. Nature lovers will find much to consider. Agent: Jessica Papin, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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