Send Me to Teach in Peru!

Can you help me return to Peru to teach Peruvian biology students?

I am a wildlife biologist and science writer based in the Rocky Mountains. In October, 2016, I will return to Cocha Cashu Biological Station in the Amazon to teach science communications to a select group of Peruvian biology students. I volunteer my time teaching and the biological station covers my in-country travel to the station. But my travel to Peru is entirely out of pocket, and I need help to cover my airfare to Cusco.

This will be my second year teaching at Cocha Cashu in the heart of Manu National Park , a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Our students will spend three months learning tropical ecology and carrying out their own research projects. They are Peru's future biologists and conservationists, and their experience at Cocha Cashu is an extraordinary opportunity to develop their research skills and a deep appreciation for the Amazon.

My role is to introduce these students to science communications. We practice writing for different audiences, interviewing other scientists, and creating  visual aids -- skills they will need in their careers to bring the wonders of science and nature to the wider world.

After the 2015 course, one of my students, Sarah Landeo, wrote to me: "So now, that I am back in home, I wanted to say thanks, because you are one of the wonderful teachers and friends that has help me (us) to improve. Because your lessons were dynamic and fun and helped me to realize how valuable our “artistic skills” can be to complement the biologist-scientific side of us, and how important it is to communicate and to do it with passion..... Please, continue to do what you do, to communicate, to inspire, to teach."

I am so excited to be invited to return to Cocha Cashu this year to teach a new group of students. As this is entirely volunteer, I would be so grateful for your help getting there.

Can you donate to help bring "scicomm" skills to these promising students? Any amount will help -- can you spare $5 or $20? Your donation is matched by my volunteer time and Cocha Cashu's payment of my in-country expenses.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, dear friends! Muchas gracias por tu ayuda, amigos!

p.s. PM me your mailing address and I will send you a personal thank you!