Lola Fatoyinbo
Forest & Coastal Ecologist
from orbit to action
I got involved in my work after seeing my first satellite image: a full view of the African continent. It was my first week as a graduate student, and the image was printed on a poster outside my professor’s office. This was before Google Maps and smartphones, and I had never seen anything like it except from the window of an airplane. My professor explained that it was a satellite imagery collected by NASA, and that all of this data was freely available. I could see the Okavango Delta, the Sahara Desert, the forest of the Congo Basin, and thought that with this I can explore all the places where I have been and where I’d like to go in the future. My mind was blown. I also realized that this data could revolutionize how we study our planet, and that it finally would be possible to work in areas that were difficult to access and chronically understudied, especially on my home continent of Africa.
At that moment, I experienced my own version of the “overview effect”, the shift astronauts describe when they see Earth from space for the first time. I felt awe, but also a responsibility: if we can see our planet at this scale, then we can also measure how it is changing, who is being affected, and what needs protection. That experience is why I do what I do. Today I use satellite, airborne, and field measurements to study forests, mangroves, and wetlands, ecosystems essential to biodiversity, climate stability and freshwater availability. My mission is both scientific and justice-centered: to make the inaccessible accessible, to democratize the access of environmental data, and to ensure that the communities closest to these ecosystems have the information they need to protect and manage them.
“I felt awe, but also a responsibility: if we can see our planet at this scale, then we can also measure how it is changing, who is being affected, and what needs protection.”
I’m propelled by the power of perspective. Many human-caused changes, whether climate extremes, forest loss, or pollution can feel abstract or distant. Satellite imagery removes that distance and reveals change with clarity and often with shock. I have witnessed how seeing before-and-after images reveals the scale of devastation in ways that resonate even with those far removed. Similarly, the beauty of the natural world is not always accessible to everyone, but seeing and exploring our home planet through satellite imagery, whether its iconic landscapes or their own back yard, can spark a sense of awe similar to the ‘Overview Effect’ that astronauts experience looking down at Earth. I believe that this shift in perspective can transform how we value our world.
It’s challenging to manage what you cannot measure, yet many communities most vulnerable to environmental change lack access to the data and tools they need. The impact of my work lies in making these changes visible and usable: by combining satellite observations with on-the-ground knowledge, exploration, and storytelling to support biodiversity conservation and advance environmental justice. My hope for the future is that we can restore what has been lost through rewilding, restoration, and a renewed appreciation for the value of nature, and that our drive for innovation, from space technologies to AI, aligns with healing rather than harming the planet. Finally, I want to inspire explorers, especially across Africa, who have not always seen themselves reflected in this world.