Amazon Center for Environmental Education Research Foundation

As a conservation education and research organization, we appeal to a wide audience. Educational programming targets primarily K-12 teachers and students in Amazonia and around the world. Field based workshops in Amazonia are also offered for lifelong learners. ACEER is committed to creating the next generation of conservation leaders, and so our research efforts target early to mid-career conservationists from a wide array of disciplines: education, the humanities, and the natural sciences.

DEVELOP THE CONSERVATION LEARNING WEB
Our first approach is to develop a learning ecosystem focused on environmental education and grounded in a collective impact framework. A collective impact framework states that when addressing a complex issue, no single initiative, no matter how excellent, can make a significant impact on
its own. Our collective impact framework centers on maintaining established organizational partnerships and growing and cultivating these partnerships into the Conservation Learning Web. The Conservation Learning Web connects conservation-based learning in the classroom to the field and equips educators to lead students through active, experiential learning in diverse settings. The Web supports youth by facilitating access to new pathways and explorations for future learning and careers. Pathways and opportunities for exploration enable young people to become engaged and skilled in conservation as they progress through childhood into adulthood.

PURSUE COLLABORATIONS
Our second approach is to bring the conservation of the Amazon to local communities in the USA, bridging conservation objectives and cultures and fostering mutual understanding. We will facilitate collaborations with local education organizations and teachers, piloting bilingual programs in Spanish and English that bring lessons learned in the Amazon to classrooms in the USA. These education programs will include the integration
of scientific research being conducted by ACEER staff on the ground in the Amazon.
• All My Relations - The Puppet Show
• Eyes on Nature - Camera Traps
• Our Water World - Leaf Pack & Foldscope
• Indigenous Voices - Cultural Mapping

EXPAND DIGITAL OUTREACH AND FUNDRAISING
Our third approach is to push our resources towards digital outreach and fundraising to address rising global
conservation challenges including climate change, mass species extinctions, and loss of traditional ecological knowledge. We will increase the visibility and scope of our new Conservation Fellows program, advocating for Amazonian conservation while contributing to the development of young conservation practitioners. We will pursue private funding sources and grants for programmatic and operational support. By expanding our digital outreach and fundraising initiatives, we will develop a robust and resilient program that furthers our mission while expanding our global reach.

In 2021 we hired a paid executive director, a paid director of research, a paid director of education and we have added five new affiliated organizations to help further our vision.

Our Vision
The ACEER Foundation is the go-to experiential learning organization in southeastern Peru that delivers innovative, transformative education programs to help develop the next generation of cross-disciplinary conservation leaders. Our programs represent a model for the rest of the country and Amazon Basin, with a focus on capacity development and community involvement. We are powered by a robust, professional staff and governed by an engaged, diverse board of directors. We operate against a well-developed strategic plan and enjoy a stable and ever-expanding funding base. We can and do measure the impact of our programs and clearly communicate

ACEER has been a dynamic force for rainforest for over 25 years. We were the first in the Western Hemisphere to pioneer the scientific applications of Canopy Walkway systems; scientists have discovered new plant and animal species at ACEER-supported facilities; and new medicines have been discovered at our ethnobotanical gardens. Today we continue to offer life transforming, experiential learning opportunities to a local and global audience. ACEER has touched the lives of more than 1 million people worldwide.

We know that rainforest destruction and climate change are leading to mass extinctions of plants and animals. But did you know that cultural extinction is occurring as well? Native Amazonian peoples are struggling for their very existence. ACEER is collaborating with the National Geographic Society and the University of Delaware to help the Ese’Eja people of Peru preserve their culture.

Our vision must extend beyond just the local populations we serve in Peru. We recognize that the Amazon is a living laboratory and holds, literally, the story of life on Earth. We feel we must take the lessons the Amazon offers for how to live sustainably and bring it home to schools and communities across the globe. The next generation of conservation leaders will come not only from Amazonia, but from every region of the world..

The ACEER has a long history of impactful achievements starting with construction of the first Canopy Access System in the Western Hemisphere, and a second such system, and the first in a cloud forest, both of which have led to the discovery of new species of plants and animals. Our medicinal plant gardens have led to development of new commercial medicines. In the last three years our most impactful achievements are:

Creation and operation of a Conservation Learning Web…the first of its kind in Latin America. The Web starts with formal education involving teachers and teachers in a school and integrates it with out of school experiences in the field, family engagement, involvement of non-profit conservation organizations, higher education, and sustainable businesses.

Cultural mapping and creation of a Community Development Fund for the native Ese’Eja Nation, a hunter-gather-fisher society on the brink of cultural extinction. A traveling art exhibit and document book have been produced. The exhibit is currently in the Field Museum in Chicago after its opening at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, and after multiple venues at universities across the US.

Research into the impact on aquatic biodiversity from the Transoceanic Highway. Nineteen watersheds from Puerto Maldonado to Cusco, Peru, were studied to assess the impacts from the new road. New species and general were discovered as well as the detrimental impacts from the road on aquatic biodiversity.

One of our main focuses in 2021 is to build upon our Conservation Fellows Program. We have accepted 18 young conservationists from all around the world to participate in this program.

ACEER supports the next generation of Amazon Rainforest conservation leaders through our Conservation Fellowship. Fellows use their knowledge and passion to turn experiential learning and international exposure into opportunities to increase awareness, skills, and networks for conservation-related concerns. With hands-on field experience, fellows can dive deep into the work of learning about and preserving the Amazon and the people groups therein. Full Fellows mentor Emerging Fellows, creating opportunities for building lasting relationships and knowledge-share.

Conservation Fellows’ work will be highlighted and disseminated through ACEER’s various media platforms. Together, the Conservation Fellows can share their skills and research to promote better understanding of different cultures and their environmental impact.