Aino Õige, also known as Aino Somann-Õige (née Aino Sooman, June 29, 1935 – July 17, 2018) was an Estonian botanist and popularizer of nature.

Early life and education

Aino Õige was born at the Abema farm in Jutapere (since 1977 part of the village of

Pajaka Pajaka is a village in Udupi Taluk and district of Karnataka state in India. Pajaka is the place where Dvaita philosopher Sri Madhvacharya was born. The place is near Kunjarugiri Durga temple. The importance of Pajaka kshetra is also narrat ...

) to the farmer Hugo Sooman (1909–1952) and his wife Kristiine Sooman (née Tarkmeel, 1911–1995). In 1960, she graduated from the Faculty of Biology at the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

, majoring in botany, with the thesis ''Andmeid kaasikute alustaimestikust ja ökoloogilistest tingimustest Eesti NSV-s'' (Data on the Understory Vegetation and Ecological Conditions of Birch Groves in the Estonian SSR).

Career

From 1960 to 1964, Õige was the manager of the Viidumäe Nature Reserve. She then worked in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

as a methodologist at the Center for Young Naturalists of the Estonian SSR (later called the Center for Young Nature Lovers), prepared teaching materials for nature conservation, and supervised the botany circle there. She was the head of the Tallinn Nature Conservation Inspectorate.

Family

Aino Ōige was married to Sulev Ōige (born 1937), and she had three children. Ōige died as a result of leukemia in 2018.

Bibliography

*1960: ''Andmeid kaasikute alustaimestikust ja ökoloogilistest tingimustest Eesti NSV-s'' (Data on the Understory Vegetation and Ecological Conditions of Birch Groves in the Estonian SSR). Thesis, University of Tartu *1963: ''Viidumägi – haruldaste taimede kodu'' (Viidumägi: Home of Rare Plants). Coauthor with

Jaan Eilart Jaan Eilart (24 June 1933 – 18 May 2006) was an Estonian phytogeographer, landscape ecologist, cultural historian and conservationist. Eilart was born in Pala, Kirna Parish, Järva County. In 1957 he started teaching conservation as a sub ...

. Tallinn: Eesti Riiklik Kirjastus

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oige, Aino 1935 births 2018 deaths Estonian women botanists 20th-century Estonian botanists 21st-century Estonian botanists University of Tartu alumni People from Märjamaa Parish