Where did you grow up, Aruni, and
what were your formative childhood
experiences with nature?
I was born in a small coastal town in Sri Lanka and my
family moved to Colombo, the commercial and financial
capital of the country and its largest city by population.
(Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is the administrative capital
of Sri Lanka.) I've admired trees since I was a toddler.
Sri Lankans usually grow fruit, vegetables, and flowers
in their gardens; my grandmother's garden was the first
place I came across plants. Her small home garden had
many fruit trees such as pomegranate (Punica granatum),
bilimbi (Averrhoa bilimbi) and oranges (Citrus spp.). I
spent hours in the gardens playing and I was amused
by how the bilimbi flowers stained my mouth red.
When my family moved to Colombo, we lived in apart-
ments. I didn't have access to a garden, but my love
for plants grew as I observed public and private trees
on my way to school, developing a mental map of
trees belonging to the same species, including their
flowering and fruiting timelines. My school, Vishaka
Vidyalaya, was one of the oldest in Sri Lanka, so there
were many mature trees in the school yard. It was my
hobby to collect dried leaves and colorful seeds and to
make small necklaces from the flower stamens of the
cassia tree (Cassia fistula). If you were to flip through
one of my books, you'll likely find three or four twigs
or leaves pressed and tucked inside. I made scrap-
books and crafts out of all sorts of plant pressings.
While an undergrad studying Plant
Science at the University of Colombo, you
conducted the first-ever plant inventory
and land use history analysis of the oldest
remnant urban forests in Colombo—and
won the best undergraduate research
award from the Sri Lanka Natural History
Society in 2019. Please tell us more
about that work and what you learned.
Getting to Know PhD Candidate
Aruni Sabina
Ariyawansha
All photos by Aruni Sabina Ariyawansha
Through her Plant Biology PhD research at Ohio University,
UCFS Member Aruni Sabina Ariyawansha is investigating
meta-community dynamics, soil processes, and recruit-
ment limitations in urban forests. She is particularly
interested in the role of urban forests in fostering biodi-
versity and enhancing community well-being. Aruni is
conducting her research primarily in Southern Appalachia.
34 CityTREES
"A field work selfie with dame's rocket
(Hesperis matronalis), a mischievous
but pretty plant." —Aruni
