GUEST COLUMN

Nick Snakenberg

tion. She was a trained biologist with an M.A. from Mt. Holyoke College and along with her husband — a plant physiologist professor at the University of Wyoming — were members of the Denver Orchid Society who also traveled Central and South America studying orchids. Rebecca was also the author of numerous books on growing orchids. At a time when orchids were widely considered a hobby of the elite, her approachable writing style welcomed a new demographic to the orchid hobby. Decades after they were written, many of her books remain the go-to resource for beginner orchid grow- ers.

In 2012, I had the pleasure of traveling to Peru and meeting Carmen Soto. Carmen attended Cusco National San Antonio Abad University and quickly put her biology degree to work protecting and conserving Andean ora and fauna in her native home. She was the chief biologist for Inkaterra Asociacion at Machu Picchu where she created an extensive native orchid garden that has become a major tourist attraction and is a model for similar gardens around the world. With her passion for orchids, she mentored and inspired young biologists as well as tens of thousands of visitors to Inkaterra.

e Dracula Youth Reserve —

named for an orchid genus growing within its borders — in Ecuador is a 244-acre protected area of cloud forest and is in one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. reatened by mining, the reserve is part of the larger 5,300 acres managed by partners EcoMinga, Rainforest Trust and Orchid Conservation Alliance. e reserve is home to hundreds of orchid species — many new to science. e Dracula Youth Reserve is the rst entirely youthfunded nature reserve in the world with all funds generated by people 26 years of age or younger.

Nick Snakenberg is the curator of Tropical Collections at the Denver Botanic Gardens