My internship took place at The Rainforest Education & Resource Centre (CREES); a non-profit organization in Peru which develops and implements education and research programs. These programs promote improved sustainable natural resource management practices and cooperative conservation strategies in tropical environments. CREES operates a research and education facility named the Manu Learning Centre (MLC) on a 600 hectare private reserve in the Manu Biosphere of Peru accommodating research, education and volunteer groups. The research center is unique in that it is located on land that was previously used for agricultural production of bananas, sugar cane and cacao. Different parts of the land are in different stages of recuperation, while some of the land is identified as primary rainforest. The research being done at the MLC is extremely valuable because over 40% of the Amazonian rainforest has already been destroyed, much of it for agricultural production. This gives us the opportunity to monitor the process of recuperation and the effects of deforestation on populations of flora and fauna. The center has a grid trail system overlapping different types of rainforest which makes it convenient to compare data collected from each type of rainforest. The grid is the only one of its kind at any research station in the rainforest.
Every volunteer at the center works on the seven ongoing projects as well as their own personal project. The six main projects include monitoring bird activity on the clay lick at dawn every morning. Most of the focus is on the blue-headed macaw, a bird which is in category 1 of the most endangered species in the world. Additionally, we made track traps on the trails every week and monitored them in order to measure the abundance of mammals in the recuperating forest. We smoothed out a total of 48 1m² sections on the trails out of mud and came back the next two days to see if any animal had walked on them. Mammal monitoring included direct mammal observations on the trails as well. There is a frog monitoring project and a biogarden and orchid garden. A new project that began during my internship is the botanical project. I was fortunate to be one of the few volunteers to serve as a “guinea pig” to assist in creating a protocol for monitoring recuperating forest structure. This included taking pictures of the forest canopy in different forest types in different stages of recuperation with a fisheye camera lens. We also created leaf traps to measure the mass of the leaf litter every 15 days. The third part of the botanical project was to monitor the phrenology of 100s of different species of trees every 15 days. This will be done for a number of years in order to observe long term trends and monitor forest recuperation. Finally, there is a separate project to teach the staff English, one which I was very involved in since I was the only volunteer during my stay that spoke Spanish.
Originally, I had planned to focus solely on The Biogarden and Reforestation Project. Instead, I participated in all activities and projects that the center is involved with. This greatly enhanced and diversified my learning experience as well as kept me from becoming bored of the same routine. Furthermore, almost every project at the center relates to the other projects in some way. For example, by studying and comparing the phrenology and biomass production of the different forest types found within the property, it can be possible to predict where it is more likely to find particular species of birds or mammals at certain parts of the year since they are constantly searching for food. Therefore, the mammal monitoring project relates to the botanical project. Furthermore, if we find over the long term that mammal tracks or direct mammal observation rarely occurs on some of the trails, we may infer that that part of the forest is not recuperating well and not appealing to mammals.
My most substantial contribution to the center took place during the final two weeks of my internship. About a month before my arrival, a few volunteers had planted approximately 40 pihuayo palm saplings around the Mascoitania Creek. This is a highly impacted part of the forest since the land had previously been used to grow sugar cane. It is also in close proximity to the clay lick visited by the macaws, parrots and parakeets every morning. The original intention of the pihuayo palms was to provide a food source for these birds. However, the visiting botanist thought it was a poor choice since pihuayo is a domesticated plant and never found in the wild. Consequently, I removed the saplings and replanted them in the garden and closer to the grounds of the center. I was given the names of two other species of palms found in the rainforest to replace the pihuayos: Euterpe precatoria and Iriartea deltoidea . Both of these palms fruit all year round and could potentially attract a variety of mammals and birds. I planted about 200 palm saplings.
Additionally, I worked on improving the digital map of the center and its trails using ArcView GIS software. Another volunteer and I mapped out the streams, the lake, important landmarks, as well as the elevation of one of the trail grids. By creating a map of the elevation, the botanists could better understand and explain the forest structure. An area of land that has many hills and dips in elevation may also have a higher diversity of trees since there are a larger number of micro-habitats.
My senior project will have me continuing my work with the Reforestation Project, but on a different level. The area where the center is located is surrounded by slash and burn agriculture, illegal logging and cattle ranching. There is a lack of social projects addressing the problem in this area and no economic alternatives for the people who live there. For my senior project, I am putting together a road map for how the community can implement a reforestation project on deforested land that can also provide a source of income for locals by implementing useful tree species. I will also conduct research on how such a project could potentially obtain funds through carbon revenues. By researching case studies on how other reforestation projects have been funded for offsetting carbon, I hope to create guidelines for the MLC to work with the local community to start their own project. My internship prepared me for this senior project by providing me with valuable contacts and sources. For example, the botanist with whom I worked with has already suggested a number of potentially useful endemic tree species. I was also fortunate to live in the area and see first hand the issues and the obstacles facing the community of Salvación. This motivated me to choose a project that could potentially create a substantial positive impact for the environment and the community.
I am very grateful for having the experience to work with biologists, botanists and local Peruvians and learn from all different perspectives and backgrounds. This has also improved my Spanish language skills. It was physically and mentally challenging to live and work in the rainforest for 2 months and this repeatedly tested my limits. It gave me a greater respect for field work in the tropical rainforest after working for two months without hot water, refrigeration, and minimal electricity supplied in short bursts by a generator. The greatest challenge was maintaining motivation while struggling with mite infestations and giardia without being able to escape for a few days of rest or comfort. It was also a challenge to put myself in danger everyday, especially after an encounter with an aggressive fer de lance while on the trails without a guide. Nevertheless, I feel that discomforts and illnesses were just as much a part of the learning experience as the internship itself.
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