Rainforest

On the road to Desolation (El Camino a la Desolación)

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 his canoe. The forest is thick and there is no path anywhere around me. I wait for Agapo to tie his canoe, and with the … Read more

My Artist Residency Experience in the Amazon Rainforest

By Lindsay Schmittle, Gingerly Press My experience on the 2022 ACEER Artist Residency along the Sucusari River Basin deep in the Amazon Rainforest of Peru was definitely not your average artist residency experience. While this was my first true artist residency, I know that in most residencies, artists tend to spend the majority of their … Read more

Is there a light more profound than that which illuminates the soul? 

Translated by Carolyn Keller and Brian Griffiths Is there a light more profound than that which illuminates the soul?  I could see it in their looks, in the string of smiles from the conversations that brought us together in the wonder of knowing a world where the wildlife has free rein and is constantly transforming … Read more

First Experience in the Amazon with Conservation Fellows Program

Click through Slideshow Experiencing the Amazon rainforest was always something that I looked forward to. It was never a matter of if I would pursue research in the Amazon, but rather when I would begin. A frontier of biological diversity, the Amazon has excited me since I was young, and knowledge of its destruction set … Read more

On a quest for gold 

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

Beyond Biology: transdisciplinary approaches to conservation

A jaguar is on the prowl on the outskirts of a local community deep in the Amazon rainforest. Its roars can be heard in the dead of night; its tracks surround the edges of the village. To some Indigenous communities, this may be a sign that a shaman from a rival village has transformed himself … Read more

THE BLUE MORPHO BUTTERFLY: An Amazonian icon

Blue Morpho Butterfly

The Blue Morpho butterfly is an unforgettable sight for anyone who has been able to witness it flying through its natural habitat of the Amazon rainforest. The Blue Morpho certainly is a species that carries with it the true essence of the Amazon: beauty found in the heart of wildlife and a natural coexistence maintaining … Read more

Birdbaths, Bugs, and Bird-health: parallels in the US and Amazon reveal the consequences of human activity on birds

Birds at Birdbath

These two examples of declining bird health in North and South America are reminders of the valuable and complex systems of interaction that are the basis of life on earth.

¿Por qué debemos conservar los bosques?

No he encontrado manera de responder esta pregunta sin conectarla con lo que me ha movido durante los últimos años a dar cada paso de aprendizaje sobre la vida en “el monte” (como la llamamos coloquialmente en Madre de Dios).  Cinco años atrás, en un proceso de recopilación de materiales audiovisuales para difundir información amena … Read more

Encounters with Jungle Elders

I used to climb between the buttress roots of an old tree in a park that my parents often took me to as a child. I imagined that I was in a lost world, full of magical creatures like fairies and great giants that mimicked plants. I never thought that these games my imagination would … Read more

A Taste of Summer

A Red-eyed, 17-year, Cicada

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 Indigenous Communities of the Amazon and Their Fight Against COVID-19

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

Help the Rainforest with a Cup of Shade Grown Coffee

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

3 Birds From The Amazon You Can See In The US

There are several bird species that spend winter in the northern South-American Tropics and migrate to the US East Coast for the spring. Three of these birds whose habitats are affected by these threats are the Scarlet Tanager, Indigo Bunting and Bicknell’s Thrush.

Have Yourself a Cup of Coffee and save the Amazon Rainforest!

We are so excited to be working with House Cup Coffee Roasters to bring you Rainforest Coffee! ACEER’s Rainforest Coffee is 100%: Fair Trade Organic Peruvian Shade Grown & Certified Bird-Friendly Sourced from the La Florida Co-operative 100% of the proceeds from ACEER’s Rainforest Coffee will directly support our rainforest conservation programs. ACEER is also … Read more