Oxisol

06/01/2015

“The ability to monitor where and when deforestation occurs was key to support the decrease in deforestation rates in Brazil by allowing the local authorities to identify illegal events and quickly act,”

Falling prices and rising debt are driving some Latin American leaders to relax legislation aimed at protecting the environment

06/01/2015

Can you guess what these are without reading the description?

28/12/2014

Winner of the 2014 'Best Reader Travel Photos of 2014"

Me and Uni friends being pummeled by waves in Brazil but enjoying every minute of it!

Saudade para Brasil

Travel, and the world is at your fingertips

02/12/2014

A hummingbird nesting on a single palm leaf in the Amazon Rainforest. This video represents a perfect example of the profound impact Museu da Amazônia can have on creating awareness and support for Amazonian conservation. MUSA will be included in the 90 Day Trek documentary due to their innovative approach to habitat preservation, popularization of science and integration of academic research.

19/11/2014

Ending a Year of Brazil Among the Amazon

The amazon river is the largest river by discharge of water in the world, averaging a discharge of about 209,000 cubic meters per second greater than the next seven largest independent rivers combined. The Amazon Basin, the largest in the world, covers about 40% of South America, an area of approximately 7,050,000 square kilometres. Though the Amazon River is the largest it would still take over a year for the river to drain Lake Superior at it's current volume per seconds.

15/11/2014

Flight Over the Amazon

With the 90 Day Trek Documentary well underway, here is a photo to get you thinking. The amazon rainforest is the largest rainforest in the world, home to the greatest river by volume and it holds more species than anywhere else. It's the breathe of planet earth. Here, you can see agricultural lands cutting into the forest as I fly into Manaus for my last week in Brazil.

One objective of the 90 Day Trek film is to understand what makes Brazil a leader in environmental conservation and the challenges they face as being home to one of the world's most important ecosystems.

24/08/2014

What about the water?

Brazil has a huge responsibility to protect the Amazon rainforest. Not only is the country expected to feed our growing population of 9 billion people, they are trying to protect the largest tropical rainforest as well. As large tracks of the forest have been cut down, microclimates have changed and the overall rainfall in the southeast of Brazil has reduced due to the loss in transpiration precipitation from the lost trees. Brazil Das Aguas has combined education with science in order to protect some of the most important water on earth.

http://brasildasaguas.com.br/

23/08/2014

DAY 80 of the 90 DAY TREK: The pro active organization Aliança da Terra developed a curriculum to address one of the greatest challenges facing Mato Grosso, Brazil - The rapid loss of the Cerrado forest biome. It was exciting to see the educational booklets dispersed among each grade followed by a series of activities. I had a unique glimpse into the thoughts and sentiments of students of the Cerrado region of Brazil that's home to iconic species like the Blue-and-Yellow Macaw and famous fruits like the Cajú. These photos tell the story of their activities and the moments I found most interesting.

http://www.aliancadaterra.org.br/

18/08/2014

Day 79 of the 90 DAY TREK: After a week of studying the field assessments of Aliança da Terra, the next stage was to work into the educational and outreach part of this environmental organization. Educating youth in rural towns of the Cerrado about the importance of preserving this unique biome is an effective way to develop a positive social change towards habitat preservation. I wanted to know what materials the organization was using and their methods for teaching. After a week with the education and outreach team I was impressed. These are the photos describing how the teachers were trained.

18/08/2014

The past two weeks have had a major impact on the 90 Day Trek film project. From natural resource management in the Cerrado region of Mato Grosso to flights around the world for climate and water science. Mato Grosso, Goiânia all have a special place in my heart. Thanks to the many people that have helped along the way for the success of this project and building strong relationships.

OFF TO MANAUS!

https://sites.google.com/a/umn.edu/brazilesotan/

12/08/2014

DAY 76 of the 90 DAY TREK: What's the impact of living in the land of drought and flood? How do you adapt and where does environmental science fit in. These are some of the questions I am getting answered during my time here in Novo Santo Antônio, Mato Grosso. These photos summarize a collection of recent interactions with cattle ranchers and some adventures on the side. I am learning a lot about the wild west of Brazil including how much I hate the Brazilian wood tick, Carrapato.

08/08/2014

Another incredible day of filming. An impressive total of 49 cattle ranchers singed up to join the land trust with Aliança da Terra. The field crew continued collecting samples and data from each site to begin developing a database in order to help farmers improve livestock and living conditions. I continued to hear stories of the many hopes and dreams the farmers have for them and their families.

https://sites.google.com/a/umn.edu/brazilesotan/film-project-90-day-trek