Anita Studer facts for kids
Anita Studer (born February 26, 1944) is an amazing woman from Switzerland. She is an accountant, but she is also a bird expert (called an ornithologist), and someone who works hard to protect nature (a conservationist and ecologist). Since 1980, Anita has been very busy saving a special forest in Brazil.
Anita was born in Brienz, Switzerland. When she was 12, her family moved to Geneva. In 1976, she visited Brazil for the first time because she wanted to see its many different birds. After her trip, she studied birds more deeply at Nancy-Université.
Five years later, in Brazil, she saw a rare blackbird called Forbes's blackbird (Curaeus forbesi). Locals called it "anumará." She found this bird in the Pedra Talhada forest in the state of Alagoas. Her professor told her the bird was interesting to study, but the forest where it lived would soon be gone. People were cutting down the trees to make space for cows and sugar cane farms. Instead of just studying the bird, Anita decided to save its home, the forest.
Saving the Forest
Anita worked very hard to protect the Pedra Talhada forest. Her efforts led to 4,500 hectares (about 11,000 acres) of the forest being made a special protected area called a federal reserve. This means it is now safe from being cut down.
Anita also started planting new trees. She helped plant over 800 hectares (about 2,000 acres) of new trees. To make sure the forest stayed healthy, she planted many different kinds of trees that naturally grow there. She even got local children involved in planting trees and learning about nature.
To raise money for her projects, Anita started the Nordesta Association in Switzerland. This group has also helped build new schools in the local villages. She also helped people in the area start small businesses to improve their lives. Anita herself works as an accountant in Geneva to earn a living.
In 1996, a documentary called "Mother Forest and the Street Children" was made about her work in Brazil. It was shown on the Discovery Channel. For all her amazing environmental work, Anita received a special Rolex Award for Enterprise in 1990.
Two new species have even been named after her! A type of frog called Dendropsophus studerae and a lichen (a type of plant-like organism) called Astrothelium studerae honor her name.
Environmental Work Highlights
Anita Studer has been involved in many important environmental and scientific activities:
- From 1980 to 2019, she studied Brazilian birds to understand their behavior and help protect them.
- From 2006 to 2014, she led campaigns to protect birds of prey and parrots in the Amazon rainforest.
- In 2004, she helped start a project that brought solar lighting to 50 schools in the state of Maranhão, Brazil.
- In 2013, she was made an Honorary Professor at the University Foundation of Iguatama in Brazil.
- In 2019, she was preparing to plant the 6,500,000th tree in Brazil!
See also
In Spanish: Anita Studer para niños
