In this volunteering program you’ll gain a better understanding of the cloud forest, why it is important and how to protect it. We aim to promote sustainable native forest management and improve habitat restoration – leading to an increase in the area size and number of trees. You’ll assist with reforestation efforts, which in turn lead to an increase in the Amazon’s water supply, and the return of certain species to the forest. While smaller mammals like armadillos and weasels have been identified in the area, we’ve recently spotted the return of larger species, including ocelots.
With our base located just one kilometre from the entrance to the Yanachaga-Chemillen National Park, you’ll spend your entire experience directly inside the cloud forest. A remote protected area known for its diversity, you can expect to spot a wide variety of bird species, including hummingbirds, motmots and tanagers.
Staff from the CDS (Centre for Training in Conservation and Sustainable Development) will guide us on how to prepare and carry out the reforestation of an area – extending an existing biological corridor and reinforcing the conservation efforts in the national park area. The CDS has spent the past ten years working on reforesting an area that was previously a passion fruit plantation. On the property where we live we’ll prepare the seedbeds and the compost, and learn the reasons for doing this. We’ll then move around the area – working in previously selected areas – to restore the diversity that once existed. We’ll go through all the steps on the reforestation program, and monitor the impact this has had by documenting the return of the biodiversity to this former deforested area.
By participating in this program, you will be supporting the UN SDG numbers 12, 13, and 15. These promote goals such as learning eco-friendly habits, reducing waste production, increasing recycling, promoting renewable energy, and preserving the natural ecosystems. Enjoy the forest, its air, the song of the birds – while helping to protect some of the main water reserves in the world.
Highlights
- Live in the Amazon cloud forest – in an area declared by UNESCO as the Oxapampa-Asháninka-Yanesha Biosphere Reserve.
- Join the efforts to conserve the water sources that irrigate the Amazon River, often referred to as “the world’s lungs”.
