Unusual Rainforest Friendships: A jungle duck joins the Crees family
After spending six months living and working in the Amazon rainforest, most conservation interns make life-long friendships. But for Chi Wei, she also made an unusual connection with an adventurous, half-wild duck… When I travelled back to the jungle from Cusco in October, I noticed that a new friend had waddled into our lives – […]
A diabetic on an Amazon adventure
Volunteering in the remote rainforest could be daunting if you suffer from diabetes, but Graham Dennis explains why you shouldn’t let it hold you back. I have always wanted to visit the Manu Biosphere Reserve and in 2016 I found a way to do it, by volunteering with Crees at the Manu Learning Centre (MLC) […]
All is not lost: the value of protecting once destroyed rainforest
A conservation internship in the Amazon opened my eyes to the whole rainforest ecosystem and not just the pretty mammals in a primary forest, explains researcher Diego Balbuena. Since I was a little kid, my dream had been to visit Manu. It’s an area of remote Amazon rainforest that sits in the south-east of my […]
Anonymous amphibians: an encounter with the curious caecilian
Unearthing weird and wonderful creatures in the jungle is the wonder of on Amazon adventure, as conservation volunteer Justin Law from Deakin University in Australia discovers. Rain poured from the heavens, as if it had never rained before. We were moving through a particularly thick section of bamboo forest encompassing about one-third of the Manu […]
Camera traps, conservation and community: Chris Beirne leaves a legacy in the Amazon
As Dr Chris Beirne leaves the Manu Learning Centre, his passion is multiplied through the students he’s trained, the cross-cultural relationships he’s built and the people he’s inspired. “Life isn’t as exciting anywhere else as the tropics,” says Chris, who has joked his way through tropical diseases, deadly snake encounters and run-ins with illegal loggers. […]
Thinking about this year’s holiday? Join the sustainable movement…
Discover how sustainable tourism can make a positive difference to people and nature, making your travel choices a part of the solution. Has anyone ever told you that you’re one in a billion? According to the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), 1.2 billion people travelled internationally in 2015. It’s ever on the increase and by […]
Celebrating National Bird Day: how birding helps conservation
Birdwatching in the Peruvian Amazon can support the protection of wild species by directly funding the conservation of birds’ natural habitat in Manu Biosphere Reserve. Every 5 January, it’s National Bird Day and here in the remote Amazon rainforest we love nothing more than to celebrate our feathery friends. The Manu Biosphere Reserve where we’re […]
Blue Sky Wildlife: new review platform for wildlife ecotours
Blue Sky Wildlife: a new concept for profiling wildlife tours that help support the protection of our natural world. Much like Tripadvisor is for the whole travel industry, Blue Sky Wildlife seeks to be the “go to” place for anyone searching for a unique and exciting wildlife tour anywhere in the world. No platform has […]
Community life in a remote Amazonian research station
From safety to salsa lessons, Crees volunteer Pierre Giraud explains what community means in the jungle. The Manu Learning Center (MLC), a research station in the Peruvian rainforest, is a healthy and strong community. Building this community and ensuring that it evolves properly is not easy, especially when it involves so many people with different […]
Top 5 tips: How to volunteer ethically
Expert advice on all the issues to consider before volunteering abroad, from cultural awareness, to environmental impact and animal welfare. When we decide to volunteer, it’s usually out of a desire to help. But is our aim of doing good, actually doing untold harm? There is a maze of social, environmental, cultural, political and economic […]