5 things I learned in the Peruvian Amazon

Me and my trusty machete

A machete is an all-purpose tool. It can be used for: clearing trails, digging holes in soil (tree planting), stripping cane (for biogarden fences), hacking unruly bamboo, cutting fruit and walking support.

Conservation involves more than just preserving wildlife.  In order for a project to be sustainable, local people need to support the cause and benefit from the projects.

Primary forest mosquitoes are very large and have white stripes on their legs (seriously)

Listening in the most powerful sense in the jungle. Because the rainforest is so dense with plant life, it is very difficult to spot many of the animal species because they have plenty of hiding opportunities and our walking/crunching often alerts them of our presence. From monkey calls to birdsong, the sounds of the Amazon are key in identifying and tracking wildlife.


Rainforest destruction is a complicated and controversial issue that I barely touched upon. There are lots of socio-economical matters intertwined. People living in and around the rainforest need to feed their families and sadly destroying the trees (for agricultural land, logging and oil exploration) provides communities with the money needed to survive.