I have a very dear friend, who has worked tirelessly on restoring decimated coastal areas around the world. She is the world’s leading sea grass expert. She raises money to restore damaged coastal areas where dredging, oil companies, boats, pollution, etc. had destroyed the living grasses in the areas. When there are no grasses in a coastal area, there is no or little sea life. When you restore the plants, grasses, life returns and healing of the area begins.For example, the Meadows Foundation was wanting to save and endangered whooping crane. They have partnered up with Dr. Thorhaug to restore the areas where the crane lives. By doing this, the whooping crane will be able to have food, in which it needs to survive. So, if you know of anyone who wants to contribute to the restoration of the oceans and their coastal areas, this is a marvelous, grass roots, place to start!
I am blessed to have her as my friend and so I am sharing this wonderful award with you.
The Award of the Botanical Society of America to Anitra Thorhaug.
for her many varied and substantial
contributions to Botany at the New York Botanical Garden in New
York City. Her marine restoration efforts commencing with Biscayne
Bay, Florida as well as teaching these techniques throughout the
tropical world and including her present restorations in 7 highly
polluted Texas estuaries were highly commended. Also included were
her efforts in forming science-based policy for pollution emissions
such as heat, salinity alterations, oil, dispersed oil, heavy metals
into estuarine and marine environments through both her intensive
laboratory research and working with policy-makers at national and
international levels. Her multicolor light and her membrane research
was stated as being fundamental information to botanical science.
Anitra Thorhaug is presently at Yale School of Forestry, and previously
was at Research Professor at Florida International, at RSMAS and
Microbiology of University of Miami , Visiting Professor at University
of California at Berkeley, and at Weizmann Institute for Science with
Aharon Katchalsky. She is President of Institute for Seagrass, Burton
Texas, and President of Greater Caribbean Energy and Environment.
She has previously won 4 awards from the United Nations for
her work, and an honorary doctorate from Philippines Women’s
University. She has written 12 books and 400 scientific papers and
been consultant to a series of UN agencies ( FAO, World Bank, IMO,
UNESCO, UNEP) as well as foreign and US and state governments on
marine pollution has acted on the board of major scientific societies.
She holds a real estate, a pilots and cave divers license.
Futher information can be reached through A. Thorhaug
– athorhaug@msn.com
