The first time I visited Madre de Dios, Peru, was in 2010. I took a boat up the Tambopata River, and saw that the water was laced with golden glitter dust. It felt like I was dreaming, being surrounded by a lush green jungle, blue skies, while floating on a river of gold. I fell … Read more
How a Paper Microscope is Paving the Way for Students, Teachers and Conservation One a cool Sunday in October of 2020, I did not rush inside to go watch any of the football games on my living room TV. I was so engaged with looking at the wings of a Spotted Lantern Fly for one … Read more
I arrived once again in Madre de Dios on the 23rd of November, 2020. This was the first time I would spend a significant amount of time in the rainforest during the wet season. In this southwestern region of the Amazon there are two pronounced seasons: dry between the months of April and November and … Read more
En estos últimos 10 años estuve viajando por diferentes afluentes de la Amazonía Peruana en Madre de Dios. En uno de estos viajes tuve la oportunidad de conocer el río Malinowski, un lugar donde los mineros de oro estaban destruyendo la belleza de esta selva y todo lo que estaba a la vista. Donde antes … Read more
It was late 2014 and I was back in the Netherlands after a life-changing trip to Suriname. Being home was surprisingly challenging; I felt out of place back in a classroom and back in Dutch society. My mind and body were aching to return to the wilderness as soon as possible. But how was I … Read more
I have had a strange fascination with frogs since I was young, and for a long time, I asked myself why. Some years ago I decided to stop questioning myself and start thinking about how I could use this weird but strong passion to help these vulnerable animals. Here is where my journey into conservation … Read more
The ACEER Foundation kicked off its Delaware Teachers Institute Summit at the Stroud Water Research Center in Avondale, Pennsylvania under the sweltering heat and stifling humidity of midsummer. The heat and humidity simulated the conditions that the teachers will experience while in the Peruvian Amazon next summer. The summit ran from June 28th to June … Read more
Entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, is widely embraced by ethnic and indigenous communities in parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America as a cheap and sustainable source of protein. Introducing more insects into the Western diet as a more sustainable food source is the way of the future.
The COVID-19 pandemic caught the world by surprise, sweeping across countries in only weeks, leaving no part of the world safe. The news provides daily coverage of international COVID-19 statistics; however, it rarely mentions the people of indigenous communities and their perilous struggle with the pandemic. While COVID-19 has been a difficult adjustment for people … Read more
The climate crisis we are facing has created an urgent need for finding practical and useful ways to be environmentally conscious while still maintaining our lifestyle. Something as simple as your morning cup of coffee has a significant ability to make a change in the world by taking a bigger step towards sustainable agriculture. By … Read more
