Volunteering with Earthwatch

To learn what this part of the Amazon was back in 1980 -- no trees because of logging and oil in the river depriving humans and animals of food resources and then to see it today after thirty years of restoration and change in a variety of ways (i.e. villages having fish farms to leave the river fish for the birds and mammals) gave all the people who were in our group a sense of pride and accomplishment because we know what can be done to restore this world if given the opportunity. I was the only person in our group who had been to the Amazon several times and it was the second time for my granddaughter, so I did a lot of the recording so that those who had not been in the Amazon before spend all their time taking in the beauty and learning the life of the locals as well as participate in the data collection. I had also volunteered through Earthwatch at CCF (Cheetah Conservation Fund ) in Namibia and this volunteer experience was once again well organized and had adaptations as needed for all participants. I had planned to go back this past January, 2016, but a family emergency caused me to cancel. I hope to return to the research riverboat on the Amazon -- Pacaya Samiria Reserve -- next year.