The Amazon Burning - Kids and Bugs to the Rescue!

Dear Rainforest Supporter,

This year marks our 10-year anniversary. At times, it feels like time has flown by, yet it is precisely these 10 years that have allowed us to achieve the progress we celebrate today.

On the research front, our butterfly project is thriving. Thanks to the results of molecular analyses conducted in our in-situ DNA lab at Finca Las Piedras—our field station in the Peruvian Amazon—we are now in the process of describing new butterfly species for science, as well as documenting, for the first time ever, the life cycles many of them undergo.

Building on last year’s achievements, we have been officially recognized by the Peruvian Government as an institution authorized to store biological samples. We are also in the process of securing a permanent space for our collection in Puerto Maldonado, the capital of our region. This future museum will serve as an invaluable resource, providing students and the broader community with opportunities to learn about the incredible biodiversity of our forests. For the academic community, it will also be a key space to support and advance research efforts in this part of the Amazon.

This year will be one of celebration, and we look forward to sharing the many activities we have planned to commemorate our achievements and lessons learned. We are deeply grateful for your continued support of our work. A special thank you to Wild Green Future, our close partner, for believing in us throughout this journey.

With gratitude,

Dear rainforest supporter,

We couldn’t have asked for a better way to close 2025. On the research front, our work with butterflies in our molecular lab continues to grow, producing new articles and valuable information for the scientific community. We are also thrilled to share that the Peruvian Forestry Department has officially approved our natural history collection of butterflies and moths as a national collection.

In April 2025, we began building a dedicated facility in Puerto Maldonado to permanently house this collection. Once completed in mid-2026, this new space will allow us to expand the collection and develop teaching collections that can be used by local students, professors, and researchers—creating an important new educational resource for the region.

On the education front, we received a small grant from the Organization of Biological Field Stations (OBFS) to carry out a series of educational field visits to our station during the second half of this year. These visits included more than 90 elementary school students from both rural and urban schools, as well as over 80 local undergraduate students and professors. The goal was to raise awareness about the work carried out at an active field station like ours and highlight its importance for the region’s development.

We want to thank you for your constant support and take this opportunity to wish you a very joyful holiday season.

Warm regards,
Geoff, Johana, and the entire ASA family