Dr. Sula Vanderplank joins the Pronatura Noroeste team

As of February 17, 2020, the Pronatura Noroeste team will have a new member, Dr. Sula Vanderplank, who will assume the position of Director of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Conservation Program for the organization.

Sula is an expert in the vegetation of Northwest Mexico. She has a master’s degree in Plant Toxonomy from Claremont Graduate University, and a Doctorate in Plant Ecology with minors in Conservation Biology and Biogeography from the University of California, Riverside. In addition, she is on the Board of the Southern California Botanists, the California Botanical Society, and the “New Generation of Sonoran Desert Researchers” initiative.

Sula has collaborated with the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Natural History Museum, the Center for Plant Conservation, the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the Ensenada Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education. Working with scientists and conservations on both sides of the border, she has organized expeditions to islands and remote places on the Baja California Peninsula in order to describe little known ecosystems in the region and collect seeds and propagules of rare plants or those in danger of extinction, as a basis for repopulation and conservation.

Applying her experience in the exploration, study, and conservation of terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity, Sula’s work will enrich the linkages between the Pronatura Noroeste programs that focus on the conservation of public and private lands, marine and costal conservation, watersheds, wetlands, birds, and natural protected areas, as well as to design specific strategies to ensure the conservation of natural capital of the coastal area, deserts, forests, jungles, and mountains in the region.

We hereby welcome Dr. Sula Vanderplank to the Pronatura family and assure that her work will be reflected in greater knowledge and better conservation of natural resources in Northwest Mexico.