THE LEAFLET

This past week we highlighted a few women in the industry who truly inspired us!  

Women are no strangers to hardship, but when staring into the face of challenge and adversity, have and always will fight back fiercely, and overcome. Let’s get inspired together and learn about some of the great female foresters who fought on and left a lasting legacy for years to come. 

Maria Sanford and Florence Bramhill were members of the Minnesota Federation of Women’s Clubs at the start of the 1900s when a new law had passed that would allow large-scale timber harvest in federally-owned Minnesota forests. The group of women rallied together to educate citizens and congressmen alike on the inherent value of the forest and in doing that, they successfully secured the protection of over 600,000 acres of pine woods that would go on to become the Chippewa National Forest. 

Wangari Maathai was a Kenyan activist, the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate, and the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. In 1977, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots organization with the focus in mind to reforest land and empower women. Since its creation, over 51 million trees have been planted and thousands of women have been trained in forestry and other related fields. 

Dr. Eloise Gerry was the first woman appointed to the professional staff of the U.S. Forest Service. During her time there she studied southern pine physiology, growth, and the effects of turpentining. She was a pioneer of microscopical studies regarding the anatomy of the southern pines and successfully developed methods to increase turpentine yield as well as prolong the working life of trees. 

Margaret March-Mount earned herself the title ‘Ambassador of Trees’ during her 30 years of work with the U.S. Forest Service. One of her greatest accomplishments was her “pennies for pines” program, where children were encouraged to fundraise to plant pine trees in national forests. The Forest Service could plant 1,000 seedlings for every $4 received. The program’s success led to the planting of almost 6 million trees across 6,000 acres of land.  

Nalini Nadkarni is an ecologist who pioneered the study of the Costa Rican tree canopy by using climbing equipment to take tree inventory. She also still currently works to create activities and programs that raise awareness of the importance of trees and nature to others. In 2003, she co-created the Sustainability in Prison Program in Washington State, and in 2011, created the Initiative to bring Science Programs to the Incarcerated (INSPIRE). These programs bring multiple benefits to inmates, scientists, correctional institutions, and the community.