Jungle volunteering in the heart of the Amazon rainforest

Aran, a radiologist from Ireland, decided to start a new adventure joining our Amazon Conservation project in Peru to help with the work conserving and protecting these astonishing rainforests.

"In Ireland, I grew up in the countryside, surrounded by green fields, woods, rivers, streams, hills, and mountains. A beautiful and breath-taking country when you get the weather. As beautiful as Ireland is through books, documentaries, movies, and the like I was exposed to other beautiful countries, landscapes, and ecosystems. The lush jungles of South America have always stood out to me, lush evergreen broadleaf forests brimming with all kinds of animal life. I just had to see this completely different ecosystem.

The rainforest here is another world in comparison to Irish forests. Every time I walk into the forest I experience something new, from a vibrant poison dart frog to tracking a puma's prints for hundreds of meters. Being surrounded by Peruvian woolly monkeys and seeing hundreds of birds take flight simultaneously due to disturbance from a predator. Every time I hear a rustle, a branch shake, or an animal call, I get excited. On top of this, there is the healing aspect of nature. An escape from the overstimulation of modern-day life, the hustle and bustle of the city, all the superfluous things we're surrounded by. Being away from all that is good for my soul, it's given me perspective for what's truly important, nature, learning, and good times with good people".

While at the project Aran took this amazing photo of a Black-faced spider monkey (Ateles chamek), in Spanish is also known as Maquisapa. This beautiful monkey is distributed across the amazon, but its population has decreased seriously due hunting and habitat degradation. He took the photo after spotting the monkey while returning from stream mapping at the river Valencia at the project. 

If you would like to start your own adventure and join the Amazon Conservation team in Peru visit our webpage for more details: www.podvolunteer.org/projects/amazon-conservation-peru