Keynote Speaker
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Looking Upward and Outward: Communicating Rainforest Canopy Research to Non-traditional Public Audiences
Dr. Nalini M. Nadkarni, Ph.D., University of Utah
Abstract:
The forest canopy – the upper portion of forest ecosystems – has been called “the last biotic frontier.” Nalini Nadkarni, a forest ecologist, will describe the three decades of treetop research she has carried out on four continents. With support from the National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Society, Dr. Nadkarni has used mountain-climbing techniques to gain access to the canopy and document treetop biodiversity and ecosystem-level interactions in treetops of cloud forests of Monteverde, Costa Rica and temperate rainforests of Washington State.
She has learned that the canopy experiences far greater environmental extremes than the forest floor, and that the unique plants and animals have evolved to spend their lives high above the ground play critical roles in rainforest nutrient and water cycles, in sustaining wildlife, and in sequestering carbon. Many of these canopy plants and animals are vulnerable to disturbances created by humans, including ecotourism, harvesting, and global climate change.
In recent years, Dr. Nadkarni has looked beyond her field of ecology to communicate her work to non-scientists. She will describe the interdisciplinary projects that have forged partnerships with artists, rap singers, and others to communicate her research to non-traditional public audiences such as at-risk youth, legislators, and faith-based communities to raise awareness and understanding of forests and their values to humans. Another project is to bring forest science and sustainability projects to incarcerated men and women in Washington State through her “Sustainable Prisons Project.”
Dr. Nadkarni will also describe her most recent project, the “Research Ambassador Program.” Its goal is to provide guidance and contacts, and academically appropriate rewards to other scientists who wish to overcome challenges of science outreach, and disseminate their own research to non-traditional public audiences. This work promises to better bridge the growing gaps between science and society, and between humans and nature.