Epic exploration of the Amazon rainforest 

Organized through Operation Wallacea and taking place March 15–27, the expedition included Year 10s Ryan Cheung, Zio Park, Sasha Turner, John Van Loan and Henry Wang, as well as 13 students in grades 10 to 12 from Ottawa’s Elmwood School, led by Katherine Al and Emily Lim.

They flew into Lima, then to Iquitos, the largest city in the Peruvian Amazon. “We spent a day there and saw some museums focused on the Indigenous tribes in the Amazon,” Bradford says.

They also met up with one of their tour guides and hopped a bus to Omaguas on the Amazon River. There they met Dr. Richard Bodmer, a professor at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, and head of the Rio Amazonas Research Station, located on a large, moored riverboat, which was their ultimate destination. 

Their focus was the Yarapa River, a tributary of the Amazon River that is popular for research and tourism. The students could sometimes choose their day’s adventure, whether that be a dolphin survey or fishing. They sailed around the Yarapa on long-tail boats for a bird survey, in which they would stop at research stations along the way and count the birds they saw, using identification sheets to determine species.  

They were led by tour guides and biologists. 

“The biologists onboarded us with the history of the Amazon and the impact of colonization and exploitation,” Bradford says. “Now the Amazon is working closely with locally managed economies. Once we were brought up to speed and shown how to do the surveys, we researched with the biologists.” 

The participating UCC students have expressed interest in pursuing biology, whether that’s as broad as environmental science or as specific as studying, say, amphibians. Says Bradford, “This was dipping their toes into what it’s like to be a researcher.”

They encountered a variety of wildlife, keeping a safe distance from the likes of squirrel monkeys, toucans and an anteater, but getting closer in the case of frogs and lizards. 

The most physically challenging of the optional activities was the transect, which involved a five-kilometre hike into the jungle. “You wait 15 minutes, then you hike back, following a biologist, and you’re trying to identify as many birds, amphibians and mammals that you see or hear along the way,” Bradford explains.  

Preparations for the trip began in September. Students needed yellow-fever shots and up-to-date hepatitis A and B boosters, and brought along malaria pills, taken daily. Necessary equipment included mosquito nets, bug repellent and rubber boots. They also had to mentally prepare for the shift from a Canadian winter to the heat and 99 per cent humidity.

“It wasn’t a typical tour, and the surveys were tough,” Bradford says. “But the kids were great throughout. They became so taken by it all that, although we had internet, they weren’t on their phones anymore. They would hang out on deck, watching the sunset, and the birds and bats fly by. They remained centered in the experience.”