When the River Speaks: Uncovering the Hidden Truths of Gold Mining.
Cuando suena el rio, piedras trae Crees Multimedia Intern, Jone Troconis, looks beneath the surface of Manu’s waters: what opportunities, threats and challenges do they bring to communities in Madre de Dios? Emerald green waters clash with the red clay walls that give the southern bound direction to the Alto Madre de Dios. The young […]
Ecotourism in Peru: An Interview with Crees’ Project Coordinator, Kristi Foster
This article was originally written by Marnie Sullivan, and is part of a Community Service-Learning Project at the University of Alberta. The International Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as the “responsible travel to natural areas that conserve the environment, sustains the well-being of local people, and involves interpretation and education.” To find out what impact ecotourism has on these parts […]
Rainforest Reborn: Saving the most biodiverse place on Earth
How do you create a sustainable movement in Manu Rainforest, the remote Peruvian Amazon, where people live in poverty and jobs are hard to find? Our nature reserve, the Manu Learning Centre (MLC), was farmland just 30 years ago. The trees had been logged to grow crops and graze cattle. The forest was degraded and […]
Research, education & community: meaningful alone, stronger together
Discover what it’s like to work in the one of the most biodiverse places on Earth to bring together research, education and community projects for a sustainable Amazon. Carlos Arévalo recently joined the Crees team as Programmes Manager. He brings with him a huge amount of knowledge of sustainable development and conservation, particularly within the […]
Rainforest Experience Days: Inspiring the next generation
Local schoolchildren explore the wonder of the forest and learn about its different values so that they develop a better environmental knowledge and appreciation. The crowd of children take a step back as our senior researcher Lawrence Whittaker pulls a snake out of a bag. They’re grinning with excitement but their arms are rigid at […]
Handmade jewellery supports indigenous schoolchildren
Local children and teenagers sell their native designs at the Manu Learning Centre (MLC) lodge to generate an extra income for themselves and their families. This week, our visitors and staff here at the MLC lodge have been snapping up the handmade bracelets that went on sale to support native children and teenagers living in […]
Local School Children’s Rainforest Experience
This week, we’ve been organising our Rainforest Experience Days that will teach local students from the nearby community of Salvacion about the importance of biodiversity. Once a month, we will begin hosting groups of local students at the Manu Learning Centre (MLC) and take them out into the reserve so they can better understand and […]
This plastic planet: how bottles are being [re]used in the Amazon
A group of vultures sits perched high up on a cecropia tree. Hungry and impatient, they spread their wings and point their focus below – it won’t be long now before the intruders leave and they can return to their meal. On the menu is carrion, of a kind, but this heaving, fly-ridden mass does […]