To see the world through Dr. Nalini Nadkarni’s eyes you have to look up – way up. As an expert on the ecology of tropical and temperate forest canopies – particularly role that canopy-dwelling plants play in forests at the ecosystem level – Nadkarni’s research takes her far above ground in Washington State and in Monteverde, Costa Rica.

Multidisciplinary tree activist Nadkarni is at the forefront of communicating forest canopy research results to non-scientists through collaborations with artists, physicians, sports figures, and religious leaders. Nadkarni has also appeared in numerous television documentaries, most recently in Heroes of the High Frontier, the Emmy Award- winning National Geographic television special on tropical forest canopies. In 1994, Nadkarni co-founded and became President of the International Canopy Network, a non-profit organization that fosters communication among researchers, educators, and conservationists concerned with forest canopies. At The Evergreen State College Nadkarni teaches in the Environmental Studies program – a single faculty position she splits with her husband, Jack Longino, who studies tropical insect biodiversity.

The International Canopy Network
The Research Ambassador Program
The Evergreen Canopy Walkway Project
Sustainable Prisons Project
The Canopy Database Project
Nalini Nadkarni
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“Despite the fact that trees reproduce, transform energy, absorb water and nutrients, and communicate via chemical signals, humans tend to overlook them as interesting or important subjects for wonder or instruction. People are much more interested in – and donate more conservation funds for – mammals, birds, and other mobile organisms than for trees.”