Help us keep fighting for the Amazon!

Dear rainforest supporter,

With the holiday season upon us, we couldn’t be more grateful for all we have accomplished this year. Our research projects have thrived, with several publications currently in preparation for our butterfly project, and a very successful pilot year for our wildlife monitoring project supported by the Organization of Biological Field Stations (OBFS) in collaboration with two partner stations in Canada (Gault Reserve – McGill University) and Belgium (Field Station – Hasselt University). As a result of this project, we are producing a Wildlife Monitoring Manual that will soon be available to more than 300 OBFS member field stations around the world. We are thrilled to contribute to the work of so many remarkable field stations through this resource.

On the education front, we received a small grant from OBFS to conduct a series of educational field visits to our station during the second half of the year. These visits welcomed more than 90 elementary school children from rural and urban schools, as well as over 80 local undergraduate students and professors. The goal was to build awareness of the work carried out at an active field station like ours and to highlight its importance for the region’s development.

Finally, in terms of reforestation, thanks to the generous support of Wild Green Future, we produced nearly 1,000 Brazil nut seedlings and trained ten local families in seedling production. As you read this report, most of these seedlings have already been distributed and planted, contributing to the restoration of the thousands of hectares of Brazil nut forests managed by these families.

Thank you for being part of our work. Your support truly makes a difference.

Happy holidays!
Geoff, Johana, and the entire ASA family

Dear Rainforest Champion,

As we enter the second half of the year, we're thrilled to share some exciting updates with you.

On the research front, our butterfly project has made significant progress, thanks to the molecular lab we established a few months ago at our field station in the heart of the Amazon. This fully operational lab has been conducting numerous DNA analyses on butterflies, helping us deepen our understanding of butterfly diversity in this unique region.

We’ve also advanced our reforestation efforts. Earlier this year, we began germinating thousands of native seedlings in our nursery. These young trees are growing strong and will soon be ready for planting once the rains return at the end of the year. This work is vital to restoring degraded forest areas and ensuring a healthier Amazon for future generations.

On the education front, this marks the third year of our partnership with the Jungle Biomechanics Lab—an initiative led by the Bhamla Lab (Georgia Tech, USA) and funded by the National Science Foundation. Through this program, undergraduate and graduate students from the U.S. spend two immersive weeks in the rainforest, exploring questions related to physics, biology, robotics, and more. Local undergraduate students also joined the research, making it a truly collaborative and enriching professional development experience. 

Looking ahead, we’re especially excited to launch a new phase of our work with local schools during this second semester. These activities will give young people in Madre de Dios more opportunities to learn directly from the rainforest, helping to nurture the next generation of conservation leaders.

It’s been a wonderful few months, and we’re excited for what the rest of the year will bring. Thank you for your ongoing support—we couldn’t do any of this without you!

With gratitude,
Geoff, Johana, and the ASA Family