Over $1,000 to Save the Rainforests!
This week I had the amazing opportunity to work with the team at Reserva Youth Land Trust in collaboration with the Rainforest Trust to put on the 2nd ever #ConcertforConservation !
ReservaYLT is set to be the first ever fully youth funded nature reserve in the world, a mission that will be focusing on protecting the critically endangered Ecuadorian Choco Cloud Forest in Ecuador. Their first concert raised about $1,000 from small donors via an Instagram Live show format. We aimed to beat that goal with this second event, and I'm so happy to announce we did! Over $1,100 from amazing donors will help protect about 3 acres of land that is home to the endangered Yellow Eared Parrot, Spectacled Bear, the newly discovered Dracula Orchid, and much much more wildlife and fuana.
I was incredibly thrilled to be invited to speak at this concert event hosted by biologist & BBC's own Lizzie Daly, along with performances by Disney's Olivia Rodrigo, Gala Brie, and Grammy nominated artist Chris Style Bacon. My segment touched on a few important things that make the Ecuadorian Choco Cloud Forest so unique and actionable steps we can all take to help save it.
Ecuador Choco Cloud Forest
The Ecuador Choco Forest is one of the few regions that includes both rainforest and cloud forests. Cloud Forests are described as forest areas that are perpetually or seasonally under cloud cover. This ecosystem, along with the dramatic variance in altitude that creates a natural biological corridor, is one of the most biologically diverse in the world. Ecuador is only 1.6% of South America's land mass, yet holds over 50% of the continent's bird population.
Ways You Can Help
EcoTourism
Simply just asking communities in these environments to stop farming is not the solution. These people in most circumstances are only able to survive off the resources they produce from the land. EcoTourism does the following:
Provides an alternative source of income for communities in the area
Promotes sustainability and socially responsible travel
Allows people to witness these amazing ecosystems first hand
Palm Oil Plantations
Palm oil can be found in almost everything we use daily from soaps, vegetable oils, and detergent to candy, lipstick, and ice cream. It is however the most efficient way to produce oil as it yields more per acre than coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil, and others, so eliminating it is not the option:
Encourage more sustainable methods of palm oil production
Support locally grown oils to help relieve the pressure on rainforest communities
Invest in technological alternatives that are using waste products of coffee grounds to produce oil, as well as biotech companies using algae/fungi for biodiesel
Below is my full presentation from the Concert for Conservation event highlighting these methods and more that we can all apply in our day to day lives to do our part in protecting these threatened environments.