Rainforest

In the Garden of Deeden: The Honey Harvest

Stingless Bees in Hive in Peruvian Amazon Rainforest

According to the US Department of Agriculture honey bees alone pollinate 80% of all flowering plants. Their pollination of over 130 different species of vegetables and fruits means that these tiny creatures have a huge role in global food production. Their precipitous population decline should send shock waves throughout the world. That’s why every effort to protect … Read more

The effects of climate change: from rainforest to savanna

Illegal deforestation on farm.

The Amazon rainforest makes its own rain. And less forest means less precipitation. As forest destruction affects climate and vice versa, the concern is that the Amazon will be caught up in a set of feedback loops that could dramatically speed up the pace of forest loss and degradation and bring the Amazon to a point of no return. This ‘tipping point’ may occur when a certain percentage of Amazonian habitat dies, after which it will all turn into a savanna-like ecosystem. 

Amazon birds come for a visit

Chivi Vireo (Vireo chivi), isolated, perched among foliage. endemic bird of south america

Tanagers, Yellow Warblers, Bobolinks, Chivi Vireo, and more are all different types of migratory birds from the Amazon. Tanagers come in a wide variety of colors such as red and orange or a more grayish-blue. The male Scarlet Tanagers are known as the most gorgeous birds seen in the north during the summer, but they … Read more

Seeing can be believing: Tips for responsible travel that can combat the climate crisis 

Meeting new people while traveling.

Travel is important because it connects us, and without connection, we’d remain unable to understand the full impact of the big picture. We can objectively understand that the climate crisis is scary and terrible… but seeing it firsthand is different.

The origin of cocaine – a survival of the fittest

Coca consumption has its origins in the ancient Inca tradition, but the scale at which it is used now has nothing to do with beautiful rituals anymore. It causes deforestation, contamination and violence.

Reaching for the treetops: Canopy Walkway Systems

The Amazon, like other tropical forests, consists of distinct layers. Each layer holds a myriad of microhabitats. The herbaceous layer of the forest is at ground level followed by woody shrubs, understory trees, canopy trees and finally giant emergent trees that penetrate the forest canopy and can reach heights of over 150 feet. These layers … Read more

Stingless Bees

Stingless Bees in Hive in Peruvian Amazon Rainforest

“Ha! Careful, they’ll try and go up your nose!” I turn and see Jospeh See, an ACEER conservation fellow, covered in bees. As they’re latching onto his hair and covering his macro camera, I can see he is beaming, perfectly in his element.  We were in the midst of opening a tree trunk hive to … Read more

Reflections on ecotourism and wildlife conservation in the Peruvian Amazon

Baby Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman sitting on a log

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 locating my hostel, I was already seeking adventure. Walking around the town’s plaza you will find numerous locals and small businesses ready to provide a … Read more

Roads, rice and ranches

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 Guillermo Billinghurst’ after a Peruvian congressman, was finished in July 2011 and completed the 2600km-long Interoceanic Highway, which runs from the Atlantic Ocean through Brazil … Read more

In the Garden of Deeden: Homemade Medicinal Preparations

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 treatment and in ceremony. Cat’s Claw, Dragon’s Blood, 7- and 21-Roots are just a few of the more popular preparations. The bulk herbs can be used … Read more

Living with Wildlife: from subsistence hunting to international wildlife trafficking

‘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 food, would doubt to eat anything there.’ – is how Dr. Brian Griffiths, researcher of hunting traditions and game species in the Peruvian Amazon, describes … Read more

The quest for the black panther

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 our heads as we glided through the flooded forest on canoes. Our group moved in absolute silence except for the occasional beep emitted by our … Read more

The Amazon is not a subplot. Neither are the midterm elections. 

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 researching this blog.  That’s not all they have in common. Both are also under attack from autocratic leaders determined to hang onto power. This I … Read more

Change comes from Exchange: Indigenous education practices sustain Native cultures in the 21st century

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 about Native American and First Nations communities in North America, post-elementary school narratives – the ones beyond construction paper hats as Thanksgiving rolls around – … Read more

Down the logging road

Illegal Logging

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 pristine rainforest, holding a GPS, binoculars and a datasheet, to record any monkey, jaguar or rat that we encountered. We had research permits to do … Read more

In the Garden of Deeden: Mulching

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 material covers the soil of the forest floor. Natural mulch! However, you can easily employ mulching in your own garden. Mulching cannot be overrated. By … Read more

In the Garden of Deeden: Natural Fertilizers

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 are these plants in recycling nutrients that the vast majority of the nutrients in the rainforest are found in the forest biomass, not in the … Read more