T&T's local "Spider woman," Jo-Anne Sewlal has once again made us proud. The University of the West Indies PhD Zoology student was selected to be in an international environmental book entitled, The Sun Maker 2009, The Art of Interview and Documenting History, which features coastal cleaning efforts in T&T. Sewlal, whose love for spiders encouraged her to specialise in arachnology, said it felt great to be chosen. "Without these natural habitats, my spiders won't be there. In addition to spiders, I do things like alerting people about the environment," she said.
She was chosen by the environmental blog based on information she had previously disseminated for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) regarding last year's coastal clean up. Through her efforts at disseminating information, Sewlal peaked their interest and they requested an interview about her efforts in contributing to a healthy environment. Sewlal's interview stood out and she was featured under the title 'Cleaning the Coast of the Caribbean: T&T,' in The Sun Maker's book, which was released in December.
"My interview was selected along with nine others from around the world to be featured in the book highlighting the most outstanding interviews that were conducted for the year 2009," she said. A student who wears different caps, Sewlal is a member of the local NGO, Environment Tobago and is a member of their education committee. She also edits their quarterly newsletter and writes a weekly column on environmental issues and nature on behalf of the NGO. "The public needs to be more involved. Some coastlines, because of the tide, they do get frequently loaded with garbage," she said. Also the author of The Ecology of Web-Building Spiders: Studies of Four Tropical Species, which was also released in December, Sewlal has been recognised before. The Zoology student has won the Vincent Roth award on several occasions and was the first local to win the award given by the American Arachnology Society three times. Sharing her love for spiders, she said, "They are carnivores, so they're like pest/biological control. Also, ecologically speaking they are mid-level predators."
About The Sun Maker
�2 The Sun Maker has more than 1.7 million visitor page views from 194 countries and that number is growing.
�2 Based in Buenos Aires, the Sun Maker is directed by Ramiro Gaston Fernandez Lucifora, a journalist, graduate in Oxford DL and a student of Environmental Science.
�2 It features articles and conducts interviews with dedicated people who work with NGOs on environmental and humanitarian issues from all around the world.
�2 The Sun Maker Publishing House, released the book with two goals–to publish high quality content and information, and to document history