Rainforest Amphibian Conservation Documentary

One of the world's most understudied groups of amphibians is the web-footed salamanders of the genus Bolitoglossa. A beautiful and cryptic group of creatures from the rainforests of Central and South America. However, these gorgeous animals are facing the risk of population decline within every corner of their range. Together, reptile & amphibian researcher, Simon Harper, filmmaker and conservationist, Aura Manjarrez, and award-winning videographer, Justin Grubb, along with our team of naturalists, hope to create an exciting documentary chronicling the amazing salamanders of the neotropics, to raise awareness about their plight, and fight for a brighter future for these unique amphibians. Through our fundraising efforts, we plan on establishing an entirely not-for-profit project, where we hope to put any proceeds made towards additional conservation of amphibians, along with possibly helping the communities to which these salamanders are native. In conjunction with this idea, we hope to release our film in both Spanish and English, to raise awareness and spread information to as diverse of a viewership as possible.

We are keen on making everything about this project a collaborative effort. As a result, we intend to involve individuals within the communities where these salamanders are present, along with teaming up with videographers and biologists from our communities. We kindly ask for any donations that you all will be willing to give to fund the international travel fees for our team to travel from the United States to Panama and back home, for the funding of additional filmography equipment, a rental car and gas, housing, meals, and any possible fees that may be needed in the case we have to pay a guide or colleague while filming.

Thank you so much for considering the funding of this project. We are extremely grateful for anything that you may be able to give to us. We consider ourselves humble stewards of this earth, and we intend to focus on themes of community and perseverance along with general messages of conservation to bring hope to the perils that both amphibians and people face.

Thank you to all that support us, and a special thank you to climate activist and herpetologist, Leslie Gittemeier for allowing us to use their photographs in our fundraising campaign.