Our Indiana Jones

Bruce Holst, Selby Gardens’ director of research and collections, has journeyed to the famed Lost World region of Venezuela—often being helicoptered in to remote mountaintops—more times than he can count. He calls the region’s plant life "the most botanically diverse—and vulnerable—in the world." Now Holst, 53, has partnered with ecologists studying the effects of climate change in this remote corner of the world. Scientists believe changes there could foreshadow changes elsewhere. He’s headed back to the region (the setting for the 2009 film, Up) this month. "I’m hooked," he admits.