Hanna Resvoll-Holmsen Facts for Kids

Hanna Resvoll-Holmsen

Hanna Marie Resvoll-Holmsen (born Resvoll) was a Norwegian botanist, a scientist who studies plants. She was a female pioneer in teaching about nature and protecting it in Norway, along with her sister, Thekla Resvoll. She was born on September 11, 1873, in Vågå, and passed away on March 13, 1943, in Oslo.

Her Early Life and Education
Exploring the Arctic: Svalbard Expeditions
Studying Norway's Mountain Plants
A Champion for Nature Conservation
Images for kids
See also

Her Early Life and Education

Hanna Resvoll-Holmsen faced many illnesses when she was a child. Because of this, she didn't go to school very often after she turned 12. Even with these challenges, she managed to pass her high school exams in 1902.

She then went on to study natural history at the Royal Frederik's University in Kristiania (now Oslo). In 1910, she earned her degree in botany, the study of plants. Later, in 1921, she became a professor (called a "docent" back then) teaching plant geography at the same university. She held this important position until she retired in 1938.

Exploring the Arctic: Svalbard Expeditions

Hanna Resvoll-Holmsen joined an expedition to Svalbard in 1907 as a botanist. This trip was led by Albert I, Prince of Monaco, an oceanographer. The very next year, she returned to Svalbard by herself. Her main goal was to take photographs, some of which were even in color!

These pictures are very special because they are some of the earliest records of Svalbard's nature. Her observations about plants were first published in Monaco. Later, they were published in Norwegian as Svalbards Flora (1927). This book was the first complete guide to the plants of the Svalbard islands.

Studying Norway's Mountain Plants

Hanna Resvoll-Holmsen also did a lot of research on the plants found in Norway's mountains. She used special methods to survey the different types of plants growing there. Her findings were published in a work called Om Fjeldvegetationen i det Østenfjeldske Norge (On the mountain vegetation in Norway east of the Scandes; 1920).

She was especially interested in the subalpine birch forests, which grow just below the treeline in mountains. She wrote an important essay called Om betydningen av det uensartede i våre skoger (On the significance of heterogeneity in forests). In this essay, she argued strongly for protecting natural mountain forests. She also criticized replacing these natural forests with new spruce tree farms. This idea made some foresters unhappy with her.

A Champion for Nature Conservation

Hanna Resvoll-Holmsen was a strong supporter of protecting nature in Norway. She worked with a geologist named Adolf Hoel to create the very first protected area in Svalbard. She was also a big advocate for conservation in the Norwegian mountains.

In Norwegian conservation groups, she is known as the country's first "green stocking." This nickname means she was one of the first people to actively fight for environmental protection in Norway.

Hanna Resvoll-Holmsen was married twice. Her second marriage was in 1909 to Gunnar Holmsen, who was a state geologist. He was also the brother of her sister's husband.

A type of buttercup flower, called Ranunculus resvoll-holmseniae, was named in her honor. This shows how important her work was in the field of botany.