The Leaf Detective Flashcards
1
Q
She admired their different shapes, colors, and textures.
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The Leaf Detective
2
Q
How did they survive?
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The Leaf Detective
3
Q
How long did they live?
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The Leaf Detective
4
Q
Why did they die?
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The Leaf Detective
5
Q
But looking at leaves from the ground gets a rainforest scientist only so far.
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The Leaf Detective
6
Q
“We had already been to the moon and back and nobody had been to the top of a tree.”
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The Leaf Detective
7
Q
“It pained me if I was ever called upon in class”
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The Leaf Detective
8
Q
Instead, she found comfort and friendship and quiet excitement in plants.
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The Leaf Detective
9
Q
She built tree forts and collected twigs, leaves, and wildflowers to study and identify, to press and label, swamp thistle, devil’s paintbrush, forget-me-nots.
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The Leaf Detective
10
Q
“I was literally the only one in my town like myself”
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The Leaf Detective
11
Q
One professor refused to let her in his class, because she was a woman.
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The Leaf Detective
12
Q
Still she stuck like sap to her passion and followed it to graduate school and the tropical rainforests of Australia.
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The Leaf Detective
13
Q
No one at Sydney University had studied the rainforest before.
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The Leaf Detective
14
Q
In the dark, damp forest the trees rose up to distant rustling, squawks and screeches, shadows in the treetops.
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The Leaf Detective
15
Q
How could she get up there?
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The Leaf Detective
16
Q
From a metal rod, she welded a slingshot.
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The Leaf Detective
17
Q
Pull, aim, release, fire…
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The Leaf Detective
18
Q
Upside down, right-side up.
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The Leaf Detective
19
Q
The steamy forest painted her with a coat of sweat.
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The Leaf Detective
20
Q
Swinging and twisting, she dangled like a worm on a hook.
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The Leaf Detective
21
Q
“I was frozen with fear.”
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22
Q
But she worried: What if the branch breaks? Will my sewing hold up? Will a bird peck through my rope?
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The Leaf Detective
23
Q
What sits waiting in the treetops?
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The Leaf Detective
24
Q
At last, splashed with flowers and sunlight - the canopy!
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25
The treetop swayed back and forth.
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26
Flies whizzed.
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27
Lizards lingered.
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28
A black weevil sucked leaf juices.
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29
Sweat bees landed on her arm for a lick of salt.
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30
And the jungle's music danced all around her.
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31
"From then on, I never looked back…or down!"
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32
And leaves - lovely leaves!
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33
Large and small, shiny and prickly, tender and tough.
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34
To scientists it was a new frontier - mysterious and unexplored.
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35
They thought the rainforests were dark and gloomy and full of snakes.
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36
They wanted to cut them all down.
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37
"You can't do this," people said.
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38
"You are a woman."
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39
"Woman don't climb trees."
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40
Rainforest mysteries called her to climb and discover.
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41
She climbed the red cedar, the Antarctic beech, the sassafras.
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42
She explored the stinging tree.
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43
It defended itself - its pincushion leaves tore at her skin, and chemical hairs injected poisons with a fiery sting!
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44
"(Trees) can't run away from their enemies like animals can. So instead they have to make a lot of defenses…thorns…fuzzy leaves…toxins."
The Leaf Detective
45
She monitored and traced them to find out how long they lived.
The Leaf Detective
46
Hour after hour, day after day, she worked alone in the treetops.
The Leaf Detective
47
"I found these times alone to be very strengthening. As they encouraged me to develop confidence in myself."
The Leaf Detective
48
In the darkness, she crept into the forest.
The Leaf Detective
49
Noises swarmed around her - munching…crunching…chewing…
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50
"To my amazement and delight…most herbivores fed at night."
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51
Ton insects, a tree is not just a tree, it is a "salad bar" - all-you-can-eat leaves.
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52
To birds and mammals, a tree is a buffet - juicy fruits and plump beetles, salamanders, and frogs.
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53
A tree is a sponge, soaking up water from the forest floor, and a recycler, giving water back to the clouds, ready to quench another day's thirst.
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54
She had to find a better way.
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55
She brainstormed with other scientists.
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56
She thought and imagined… what if I fly up in a balloon?
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57
Or work from a edges of hillsides?
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58
Or train a monkey?
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59
Then one night, at one of her research sites, she and a friend had a brilliant idea - a trail through the treetops made with ladders instead of ropes.
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60
They sketched the plan on a napkin.
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61
Now she could research day and night, in good weather and stormy, alone and with others.
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62
Now Australian people wanted to visit their rainforest.
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63
She experimented with other ways to explore forest canopies.
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64
In Cameroon, Africa, she joined a team of scientists who launched a hot-air balloon that placed a raft on the treetops.
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65
She had never been there before.
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66
She wondered, What sits waiting on the treetops?
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67
The heat drained her energy, and she drained her water bottles.
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68
"The climb seemed never ending."
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69
Spread out before her as far as she could see: trees, trees, beautiful trees, millions of years in the making, filled with life, giving life.
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70
But it struck her: What good is my research for the trees, for the animals, for people, When the chainsaws are coming?
The Leaf Detective
71
"If we do not conserve rain forests. All of our data will reference extinct organisms or sites that used to be."
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72
To some people, a tree is just a tree, good for timber or rubber or paper.
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73
To others, it is just a tree, taking up land they could use to raise cattle and grow coffee or soybeans.
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74
She wondered, How can one leaf detective make a difference?
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75
How can I save the trees?
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76
I must save the trees!
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77
"Plants gave me a voice!"
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78
She taught them to climb trees and survey the forests, to identify and collect orchids and ferns.
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79
Now they could sell crops and plants instead of trees.
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80
In western Samoa she convinced the people to build a canopy walkway.
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81
Now they could make money to build a school by sharing their rainforest with the world through canopy tourism.
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82
"Now, first and foremost, I ask 'How can we save it?' so that later I can return and ask 'What and why?'"
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83
It is a shelter for animals and people, a recycler and provider of water, a creator of food and oxygen, an inventor of medicine, a soldier against climate change.
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84
It is essential for life on earth.
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85
"If only I could have achieved as much as the tree!... But I have not. I have whittled away at relatively small goals in comparison to the grander accomplishments of a tree."
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86
To be the first scientist to do so.
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87
But she encountered challenge after challenge.
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88
Male teachers would not let her in their classrooms.
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89
The high canopy was difficult to get to.
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90
And worst of all, people were logging and clearing the forests.
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91
She studied, invented, and persevered, not only creating a future for herself as a scientist, but making sure that the rainforests had a future as well.
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92
And she did it back in 1979 without ever having a single female professor or mentor.
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93
That alone could have been a book.
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94
Her canopy studies in Australia showed that leaves live as little as three months and as long as nineteen years!
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95
Like a leaf she unfurled, gradually transforming from a shy and quiet child, who didn't know women could be scientists, into a world-class scientist, educator, and conservationist.
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96
Once her two sons were born, she had to find a way to bring them with her into the field.
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97
Seeing nature through their eyes helped her realize the importance of educating young people about their rainforests,
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98
Her struggles also inspired her passion to mentor women and minorities in field biology in the United States and as far away as Ethiopia and India.
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99
And to ensure that science really is for everyone, she created a tree-climbing research program for student in wheelchairs.
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100
We met some indigenous people and learned how they live off the rainforest in sustainable ways.
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101
We soaked up her talks about leaves, plant adaptations, mutualism, and the dangers of deforestation.
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102
This tree reminds her that "taking the road less traveled has its advantages."
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103
My first climb into the canopy was exhilarating, and looking down from the safety of a walkway, I imagined what it must have been like for her to be up there dangling from a rope.
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104
The views and bird-watching from the canopy walkway at sunrise and sunset took my breath away,
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105
And night walks, with tarantulas, scorpions, and the loud sounds of busy animals, both excited and unnerved me.
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106
She has given me a new appreciation for the interconnectedness of our world and transformed me into a tree lover.
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107
Now, to me, a tree is not just a tree-good for picnics or rope swings or a shady spot to read a book. It is so much more!
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108
Imagine you are a visitor in the Amazon rainforest in Peru looking up at a tree.
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109
Would you ever guess that it could contain thousands of insect species and many other animals?
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110
The rainforest is filled with life!
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111
There are four different layers, and each forms a habitat for a different group plant and animals.
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112
Working together, these layers are the engine that supports the rainforest and life on earth.
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113
The extreme weather and unstable branches make this a challenging place for animals to live.
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114
There are lots of epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants), including bromeliads, which can hold water for frogs, salamanders, and insects.
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115
Leafy bushes, tree trunks, small trees, and climbing vines make up the understory.
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116
Saplings (young trees) wait for an opening that will let in sunlight - their chance to make it to the top.
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117
The understory is darker and more humid than the canopy, perfect for tropical plants with larger leaves.
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118
It might seem quiet, but there is lots of action on the dark, damp forest floor!
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119
Covered with soil, dead leaves, and fallen plants, the forest floor is where life begins and ends.
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120
Termites and other small organisms break down material, and then soil fungi take any nutrients and transfer them to plant roots just below the surface.
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121
Millions of indigenous people use the rainforests their superstore.
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122
Remo Caspi: trunk for canoe paddles; bark cures malaria
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123
Kapok Tree: fibers for pillow and mattress stuffing.
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124
Walking Palm: trunk for floors, walls and hunting spears.
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125
Aguaje Palm: leaves for roofs; fruit for juice and desserts
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126
Palm Weevil Larva: a tasty treat - grilled or raw!
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127
Cat's Claw: used to treat arthritis and prevent cancer
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128
Jergon Sacha: underground stem to cure snake bites
The Leaf Detective
