The Amazon rainforest is the world’s largest tropical rainforest (there are others in Indonesia and beyond plus temperate rainforests in the Arctic). But the Amazon (mostly Brazil but also: Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela) holds ‘the lungs of the planet’, that are home to a third of the world’s species, and tens of thousands of species of plants and trees. It’s also home to native tribes (many have never met other humans).
Anteaters, Bats and Boas takes young readers on a journey through this noisy and colourful ecosystem. Meet macaws, snakes, monkeys, sloths and anteaters, and learn about the four layers of the Amazin rainforest, from the forest floor to the canopy.
It’s estimated that the Amazon rainforest produces around a fifth of the world’s oxygen. Yet a fifth has already been lost to logging (for timber), rubber (for car tyres) and food (trees cut down for both cattle grazing and soy production – most used for animal feed).
The best ways to help the rainforest from England are to buy paper goods made from recycled materials (from toilet paper and tissues, to notebooks and furniture). To avoid unsustainable essential oils (like rosewood, used in many brand name perfumes).
And if you eat it, only buy organic sustainable soy (Tofoo and Oomph are good brand) and if you eat beef, choose organic free-range from local farmers.
Who is Buying Beef from Brazil?
Around 80% of Amazon forest has been destroyed to create pasture land for cattle used to sell as beef (the main marks are China and the US – in 2021, major fast food chains bought most of it for western consumers). The UK and Ireland also buys Brazilian beef (usually as corned beef).
A Child’s Guide to the Amazon Rainforest
When My Dad Went To The Jungle is an uplifting book from an Argentinian writer, inspired by his efforts to assist protecting an endangered bird. A young boy records his dad’s stories about the people, plants and animals who live in the Amazon rainforest.
When you visit the rainforest, you should ask the Sápara peoples for permission and be respectful, as it’s a great big house for plants, animals, and spirits, but it’s disappearing, little by little. Filling his journal with imaginative drawings and words, the boy decides what he would do if he visited the rainforest: Invite the spirits for donuts and hot cocoa!
Life Lessons from the Amazon
Life Lessons from the Amazon is the tale of an epic 3-month adventure through unexplored jungle terrain, with help from Waî indigenous community. Survival skills and a flesh-eating parasite weren’t the only things Pip took home from the rainforest. From contending with snakes to learning about the value of community, forgiveness and self-belief, she completed a world-first paddle through the Amazon jungle.
During that time she developed a parasitic disease caused by a flesh-eating parasitic disease, which almost killed her. Since her infection and treatment, she has become a vocal advocate for patients affected by neglected tropical diseases.
Deforestation Concerns in Peru’s Rainforests
Peru is the third largest country in South America, home to the ancient Inca culture (ancient Inca culture (Machu Picchu is an ancient citadel set high in the Andes mountains). And also home to most of the world’s alpacas (many people live on floating islands made from grass).
Why are Peru’s mountains coloured like rainbows? It’s simple minerology that creates a marble effect with weather, environment and sedimentary deposits.
Like us in England, potatoes rule peru! Everything’s about the humble spud, it’s the most popular dish by far. With over 4000 varieties growing in the highlands, even in yellow and pink versions, and there is a National Potato Day!
Of great concern is a recent law that has forgiven all illegal logging, which some think will give a green light to both the logging and cocaine industries. Recently two park rangers have been killed, echoing that of fellow environmentalist Paulo Paulino Guajajara, who was shot in the head in Brazil, for defending his rainforest home from loggers.
Just before he died (he had been threatened several times), Paulo wrote ‘We are protecting our land and the life on it: the animals, the birds. These people think they can come into her our home, and help themselves to our forest. No, we won’t allow it. We don’t break into their hourses and rob them, do we?
Rediscover The Lost Rainforests of Britain
The Lost Rainforests of Britain is an award-winning book (The Wainwright Prize for Conservation) about the temperate rainforest that may once have covered a fifth of our land – inspiring Celtic druids, Welsh wizards, Romantic poets and Arthur Conan Doyle’s most loved creations.
In this awe-inspiring investigation, Guy Shrubsole travels through the Western Highlands and the Lake District, down to the rainforests of Wales, Devon and Cornwall to map these spectacular lost worlds for the first time. This is the extraordinary tale of one person’s quest to find Britain’s lost rainforests – and bring them back.
England does has many temperate rainforests, which are as endangered as the Amazon rainforest. They are found in Devon, Cornwall and Cumbria, read more about them at The Woodland Trust.
Temperate rainforests simply means that they are wet and mild, so plants grow on other plants, and this creates a canopy of trees that are home to many woodland birds like jays (they love acorns so bury them, then forget where they put them, and so they grow into new oak trees!
Guy Shrubsole wrote the wonderful book Who Owns England? where he trespassed across the country to find out why so few own so much of our land, and what secrets are kept hidden, to keep people in power. He is a campaigner to restore our Atlantic Oakwood forests (‘our rainforests’).
An Inspiring Personal Journey of Rewilding
An Irish Atlantic Rainforest is an award-winning book that charts the remarkable journey of a wild forest that bursts into life before our eyes, inviting us to consider the burning issues of our time: climate breakdown, ecological collapse and why we need to radically transform our relationship with nature.
On the Beara peninsula of West Cork in Ireland, a temperate rainforest flourishes, due to the life work of Egohan, who had a vision to move from Dublin with family to rewild a 73-acre farm that he bought.
This is a story more of doing nothing than taking action – allowing natural ecosystems to return and thrive without interference, an in doing so, heal an ailing planet. An enduring picture of the regenerative force of nature, and how one Irishman let it happen.
Eoghan Daltun is a conservationist, farmer and rewilder. He spent 7 years studying sculpture in Tuscany, Italy. He rebuilt a 1750s cottage using the original stone and used the proceeds to buy a long-abandoned farm overlooking the Atlantic, the land ecologically wrecked by severe over-grazing and invasion by a host of alien plant species.