Excitement rushes over me as I arrive in Puerto Maldonado, a small city in the state of Madre de Dios, Peru, and the gateway to the southern Peruvian Amazon. Before
The Amazon rainforest is one of the most biologically diverse places on the entire planet. Why is that? In large part it is due to the tremendous amount of “micro
The metal bridge in downtown Puerto Maldonado, above the mighty and murky Madre de Dios river, is not just any bridge. This 750-meter long suspension bridge, officially called the ‘Puente
For many Americans, Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks: thanks for our family, friends, our good luck: small and large, while heaping our plates with turkey, stuffing, potatoes and
In any visit to a market in an Amazonian town, one will find the local “pharmacy” section. A robust zone dedicated to whole and processed medicinal plants for use in
‘The smell hits you like a train. Burned hair, rotting flesh, and old meat that’s not smoked for flavor but for necessity. Anyone who is solely used to eating western
A light rain trickled down the leaves of the dense forest, glistening as the morning sun penetrated through the clouds. A troop of capuchin and squirrel monkeys passed noisily over
Did you know the Peruvian Amazon rainforest alone occupies a territory larger than that of Ukraine? I did not. That’s a fun fact I dug up from Amazon Watch when
Let’s make this year the year to start saving your garden’s bounty by harvesting seeds.
Last month I discussed “bad” bugs, which can be really bad news for home gardeners. Luckily, many species of insects are beneficial, and often help do the dirty work of
By Carolyn Keller and Charles Sunday If you live in the U.S., it’s easier than it should be to relegate Native American experience to history. When we do get news
Well, the answer of insects in the garden as friend or foe is – both. There are millions of insect species throughout the world and scientists estimate that there are
As a novice conservation ecologist I had the adventurous task of monitoring wildlife populations in the Peruvian Amazon. My perspiring students and I would walk in a straight line through
Anyone who has walked a trail in the Amazon is aware of a very subtle, steady, quiet descent of dead leaves and other plant materials from the canopy above. This
The soils in Amazonia are so notoriously poor in nutrients, that plants have evolved diverse ways of capturing nutrients from dead leaves, stems, bark, fallen fruit and more. So successful
Birding in the Amazon is just a wonderful activity! It became one of my favorite activities when I had the opportunity to participate in a bird’s inventory in the Peruvian
The indigenous people of the America, North and South, knew well the benefits of what’s referred to as companion planting. This method involves growing plants that assist each other to
by Vítor da Silva Our canoe hits the embankment of the river, and the 69-year old Maijuna elder, Agapo, pushes me up into the forest as he balances barefoot on
