Performance Scientist | Research Artist | Sustainable Forestry |

Born: Nairobi, Kenya, Resident of Puerto Rico, British & U.S. Citizen,

Biography
Thrity “3T” Vakil, FLS, is a research artist, performance scientist, ecotechnician, and sustainable forestry
practitioner whose work bridges rainforest restoration, botany, conservation horticulture, forestry innovation,
ecological field research, trail building and maintenance, expeditionary culture, and the arts.
Since 2007, 3t has served as President of Tropic Ventures Research & Education Foundation (TVREF) at Las
Casas de la Selva in southeastern Puerto Rico, a 1,000-acre Sustainable Forestry & Rainforest Enrichment
Project established in 1983 as a living demonstration of ecological restoration, sustainable management of
secondary tropical forests, and environmentally grounded economic development.
For more than two decades, 3t has worked directly in tropical forestry operations including seed and seedling
collection, tree propagation, tree identification, selective harvesting, sawmill opeartions, wood drying, forest
monitoring, and endangered endemic species conservation. She has led more than sixty Earthwatch research
expeditions into the rainforest, coordinating teams engaged in biodiversity monitoring, forest measurement,
tree planting, and ecological observation.
3t directs endangered species conservation and recovery efforts within the Tropic Ventures forest and has
collaborated with internationally recognized botanists and Botanical Gardens Conservation International
(BGCI) in the survey and propagation of critically endangered endemic tree species in Puerto Rico.
An Associate of the Institute of Ecotechnics since 1990 and since 2007, a director of the organization, 3t has
worked across diverse interdisciplinary fields including ecology, ocean expeditions, event management,
theater, visual arts, environmental education, and performance culture.
From 1995-1998, she served as Assistant to the Expedition Chief aboard the Institute of Ecotechnics research
vessel RV Heraclitus during a major coral reef research diving expedition with the Planetary Coral Reef
Foundation, spanning the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean. The
expedition conducted reef surveys, ecological mapping, marine biodiversity monitoring, and cultural exchange
programs across Egypt, Oman, the Maldives, the Seychelles, India, Sri Lanka, and Kenya.
In 2015, 3t co-founded Puerto Rico Hardwoods, Inc., pioneering large-scale hardwood salvage and recovery
efforts in Puerto Rico. Following the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017, she helped lead initiatives to recover
hundreds of valuable tropical hardwood trees that otherwise would have been sent to landfill, transforming
storm debris into long-term material resources while advocating for local sustainable wood economies.
3t is a Fellow of The Linnean Society and a Fellow of the World Academy of Art & Science. In 2021, she received
an Innovation Award from Yale University’s International Society of Tropical Foresters in recognition of her
interdisciplinary work connecting forestry, ecology, conservation, and community engagement.
Alongside her scientific and forestry work, 3t maintains an active visual arts practice. Her paintings explore
ecological systems, metaphysical botany, inner landscapes, and the relationships between consciousness,
environment, and transformation. She has held solo exhibitions in Puerto Rico and continues to develop
interdisciplinary projects integrating art, science, ecology, and environmental stewardship.