We had a fun week hosting the Lelieveld family from the Netherlands at our nature reserve in the Amazon Rainforest, sharing our passion for nature and wildlife with them.
Discover what they thought about their 5 day tour to the Manu Learning Centre (MLC) that introduced them to our scientific research and sustainable living initiatives.
A mother of two teenage girls, Margrit explains why the family decided to spend part of their holiday in Peru staying at the MLC research station:
“You can go to many places in the Amazon with lodges, guides and tours but I think this is a really special place here. You don’ feel like a tourist, you rather feel like a guest. It’s a little like the Big Bang Theory in the jungle. What I really love is that the young people here are extremely passionate about their work, so whether it’s reptiles or bats or whatever, you can learn so much from them. For our kids, it’s good for them to see that. You’re not coming to a place where you just plunge into the swimming pool, but instead you have a real experience that you can really learn from. The girls expected old hairy researchers with glasses and instead they get a bunch of young energetic people, who are just like them but a little but older. For me, as a mother, it’s good role modelling for them.”
A nature lover and wildlife enthusiast, fourteen year old Myléne tells us what she enjoyed about her visit to the jungle:
“It’s really interesting to stay in a place that’s carrying out scientific research; I’m really interested in nature so it’s great that they show us what they are doing and tell us about their amazing adventures. I’m getting very smart here because there are so many people around here that know so many things; they tell you what kind of animal your seeing, as well as what it does and what it eats. We have seen four species of monkey already – they’re everywhere. There are also many birds and I love photographing them; I’ve seen more birds in the last two days than I’ve seen in my entire life.”
Fascinated by the different Amazonian indigenous groups, sixteen year old Michelle explains the cultural significance of conserving the forest:
“It’s important to protect the Amazon because they’re the lungs of the Earth and also there are people living here without contact and they should be able to live the way that they want to live. I think the fact that there are people living around here with no contact is so special. I didn’t really realise that there were people still living the way we did 2,000 years ago. So if you go ahead with the mining and the agriculture you will loose that.”
Paul, father of the two girls and a keen wildlife photographer, shares his experience of staying at our research station:
“I think it’s very interesting to see what the scientists are working on or at least listen to what their findings are and learn more about their projects. What I found interesting and what I understand all the research is about, is how the forest recovers from a lot of human destruction or different land uses. This jungle here has now been recovering for over 11 years and in some parts even longer. This message, that the jungle can recover, is a very important one to convey in the world. It’s crucial that more people know about the work that’s going on here and especially about the message that’s been created. It is key to the survival of the jungle and the natural world.”
We would like to say a massive thank you to the Lelieveld family for being such enthusiastic and fun guests – we loved having you stay with us and sharing our passion for rainforest protection.