In the summer of 2017 I am embarking on a month long expedition to the Amazonian rainforest of Guyana where I will be a conservation research assistant for Operation Wallacea.

OpWall is a conservation research organisation that is funded by, and relies on, teams of student volunteers who join expeditions with teams of ecologists, scientists and academics to work on real-world research programs. Over the years researchers working for the organisation have discovered 31 new species and published over 270 peer-reviewed journals.

Guyana has one of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world, with most of the country covered by untouched rainforest. While there, I will have the opportunity the take part in multiple surveys such as: estimating large mammal (jaguar, puma, agouti) communities to determine the population growth/decrease; forest structure and dynamics survey collecting data on carbon levels in the canopies; travelling down the Burro Burro River gathering data on giant river otters, caiman and anaconda.

This research is critical for observing and understanding populations so we are able to conserve them for the future, and I am excited to be a part of it so any little amount you can give would be fantastic. Thanks!