Two U.S. women stand between destruction and the world's oldest tropical rainforest. An author-adventurer, and a foundation program director, fight for the Daintree Rainforest of Queensland, Australi
November 7, 2003 (Press Release) --
NEW YORK, NY – Two United States women and one of Australia’s Unsung Heroes of Science might be all that stand in the way of the destruction of the oldest tropical rainforest on earth and the Great Barrier Reef. Robin Easton, Julie Tessler and Dr. Hugh Spencer are fighting to save the Daintree Rainforest of Queensland, Australia, home to a vast range of rare and threatened plants and animals.
Lend Lease, a heavily funded resort developer, has laid plans for shopping malls and is lobbying for roads, bridges, and power lines, imperiling the Daintree. “The sharks are circling our rainforest; we’re the last hope for this prehistoric place,” said Tessler, US Fund Advisor for the Daintree Rainforest Land Trust (DRLT). The DRLT intends to buyback the rainforest for conservation, and recently received a generous gift from the Sierra Club Foundation in support of its efforts. www.daintreelandtrust.org
“Rainforests contain at least two thirds of all land species. Since 1950, half of our rainforests have been destroyed,” said Easton. “We can’t afford to lose the wildlife of the Daintree; the biodiversity of the planet will be dangerously affected.”
A remarkable set of coincidences brought the three together. Easton, an author, was writing her book, Naked in Eden, when she contacted Dr. Spencer, who has conducted research in the rainforest for 15 years. Spencer read Easton’s true-life account of leaving her modeling career to live with poisonous snakes, crocodiles and ancient trees in the wild Daintree. “It’s un-put-downable,” he said. “This is the book to galvanize people for the Daintree.” He readily wrote the forward. www.nakedineden.com
In 2002, Tessler left a secure life as a successful corporate headhunter to travel the world, searching for a career she could “be passionate about”. After seven months abroad she found Dr. Hugh Spencer at the Cape Tribulation Tropical Research Station and was thrilled with his do-or-die stand for the Daintree. She returned to the U.S. with a mission – to start an international campaign to preserve the Daintree through land buyback.
From halfway around the world, Spencer, winner of The Australian Science Communicators “Unsung Hero of Australian Science Award”, put the two women in contact.
“The multinational has a toehold,” said Tessler, “This is a race to consolidate land so Dr. Spencer and local organizations have the clout to fight. Time is drawing down, we have to help and we have to do it fast.” www.daintreelandtrust.org
CONTACT:
Julie L. Tessler
US Fund Advisor, Program Director
Daintree Rainforest Land Trust
jlt@daintreelandtrust.org
Toll Free: 1-866-474-8682
CONTACT:
Robin E. Easton
Development Officer
Daintree Rainforest Land Trust
robineaston@nakedineden.com
Telephone: 505-424-7895
###
Lend Lease, a heavily funded resort developer, has laid plans for shopping malls and is lobbying for roads, bridges, and power lines, imperiling the Daintree. “The sharks are circling our rainforest; we’re the last hope for this prehistoric place,” said Tessler, US Fund Advisor for the Daintree Rainforest Land Trust (DRLT). The DRLT intends to buyback the rainforest for conservation, and recently received a generous gift from the Sierra Club Foundation in support of its efforts. www.daintreelandtrust.org
“Rainforests contain at least two thirds of all land species. Since 1950, half of our rainforests have been destroyed,” said Easton. “We can’t afford to lose the wildlife of the Daintree; the biodiversity of the planet will be dangerously affected.”
A remarkable set of coincidences brought the three together. Easton, an author, was writing her book, Naked in Eden, when she contacted Dr. Spencer, who has conducted research in the rainforest for 15 years. Spencer read Easton’s true-life account of leaving her modeling career to live with poisonous snakes, crocodiles and ancient trees in the wild Daintree. “It’s un-put-downable,” he said. “This is the book to galvanize people for the Daintree.” He readily wrote the forward. www.nakedineden.com
In 2002, Tessler left a secure life as a successful corporate headhunter to travel the world, searching for a career she could “be passionate about”. After seven months abroad she found Dr. Hugh Spencer at the Cape Tribulation Tropical Research Station and was thrilled with his do-or-die stand for the Daintree. She returned to the U.S. with a mission – to start an international campaign to preserve the Daintree through land buyback.
From halfway around the world, Spencer, winner of The Australian Science Communicators “Unsung Hero of Australian Science Award”, put the two women in contact.
“The multinational has a toehold,” said Tessler, “This is a race to consolidate land so Dr. Spencer and local organizations have the clout to fight. Time is drawing down, we have to help and we have to do it fast.” www.daintreelandtrust.org
CONTACT:
Julie L. Tessler
US Fund Advisor, Program Director
Daintree Rainforest Land Trust
jlt@daintreelandtrust.org
Toll Free: 1-866-474-8682
CONTACT:
Robin E. Easton
Development Officer
Daintree Rainforest Land Trust
robineaston@nakedineden.com
Telephone: 505-424-7895
###
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