REAL FOREST GIRLS & FOREST WOMEN FROM AROUND THE World

organized women in a peaceful protest to stop deforestation on Mutis Mountain. For more information, read a brief overview or watch a short video. 

engaged concerned citizens to protect 2,500 acres of old-growth forest. For more information, read a brief overview or watch a short video.

advocated for the protection of indigenous rights and the creation of a new national park, including more than 2 million acres of Amazon rainforest. For more information, read a brief overview or watch a short video.

catalyzed a community-based forest restoration organization that led to the creation of the ~100,000 acre Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve. Since then, the team has planted ~6 million trees and recovered ~13,000 hectares of forestland. For more information, read this brief overview , article, and description of the organization that she founded.

founded TreeSisters, which has raised funds to plant over 22 million trees in Brazil, Borneo, Cameroon, India, Kenya, Mozambique, Madagascar, Nepal, and West Papua. For more information, read a brief overview here and here. 

conducted a long-term field study of chimpanzees, in Tanzania, and catalyzed environemntal awareness of through the Jane Goodall Institute as well as Roots and Shoots Clubs for kids. Most recently, she has focused on forest restoration and created a new organization, Trees for Jane, which is collaborating with the Women’s Earth Alliance. For more information, read one of the many books written by, and about, Dr. Goodall.

advocated and "lived in the canopy of an ancient redwood tree, called Luna, to help make the world aware of the plight of ancient forests" for 738 days. For more information, read one of her books as well as the children's book about her, and also see her website.

heads up  Swamini, which is "a self-help group set up by nine women from this fishing community in Maharashtra who started Mandavi Eco Tourism in 2017....[a]nd now, as they research their own community’s history, they are rediscovering the edible wild plants around them." For more information, read the full article on their work here, as well as another one here, and see their organization's posts here.

promotes the conservation and sustainable use of forests. For more information, read a brief overview here or watch a video here and here.

leads implementation of a mangrove restoration and reforestation project. For more information, see project summary here.

pioneered of forest canopy research, as well as an advocate for both forests and girls globally. For more information, read about her background here, as well as her memoir here, and a children's book on Dr. Lowman here. In addition, learn about her non-profit organization -- Tree Foundation -- here.

worked with the National Council of Women of Kenya to create a project that addressed deforestation, which became the Green Belt Movement and planted tens of millions of trees. Over time, her work also focused attention on the role of private landownership in deforestation. For more information, read one of the many books  on her and explore ongoing work through her Foundation.

developed and implemented the idea of saving “pennies for pines,” which led to the planting of ~6 million trees on 6,000 acres. For more information, read this brief overview.

founded the organization Synergy of Congolese Women’s Associations (SAFECO) to promote collaboration between women’s organizations and create a unified front in working toward peace and women’s rights. SAFECO has teamed up with the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International, to focus on women’s rights and ending illegal logging in the Itombwe Rainforest. For more information, read this brief overivew.

advocates for indigenous autonomy as well as protection of indigenous lands and cultures, while also being the first female Kofán member of Sinangoe’s land patrol. For more information, read this brief overview and watch video.

seeks for protection of the indigenous Waorani territory and 500,000 acres of rainforest. For more information, read brief overviews here, here, and here, as well as explore the organizations that she has founded here and here.

advocates for women's participation in forest governance, as well as conservation  and improvement of the lives of people living in rural areas. For more information, read brief overview of her work here and here, as well as explore the organizations that she has founded here and here.

enables conservation through addressing one of the root causes of deforestation in rural communities -- which is the need for cash to pay for health care -- by co-creating a medical clinic and barter system for accessing medical care.  For more information, read a brief overview of her work here and watch a video on her work here. 

conducts pioneering forest ecology research on plant communication and intelligence, through below-ground fungal networks, and advocates for forests. For more information, read a brief overview of her work here and about her book here, as well as explore her research here.

helped to protect ~15 million acres in Chile and Argentina by establishing 11 national parks and 2 marine parks through her work as president and co-founder of Tompkins Conservation, which followed her time as CEO of Patagonia, Inc. For more information, please see this website, this map of protected areas created, and this movie.

leads the community engagement components of Operation Crayweed, which is creating patches of transplanted crayweed onto a reef in order to restore forests of this essential species across an entire site. She is also a marine ecologist based at UNSW Australia and the Sydney Institute of Marine Science.  For more information, please see this website.

created organization focused on reversing tropical rainforest deforestation through engaging with local communities and investing in their identified solutions. Collaborated with Indonesian colleague,  Hotlin Ompusunggu, to show that the approach works in Indonesia through ASRI. Currently focused on adaptation and application in Madagascar and Brazil. For more information, read a brief overview of her work at Health In Harmony here and about her book here.

engages as an indigenous climate activist focused on stopping environmental destruction in Brazil, particularly in the Amazon rainforest. For more information, please see here.

focuses on indigenous action to stop illegal logging and mining, as well as dam development on her community's lands in the Amazon rainforest. For more information, please see here.