SFS PERU: THE LIVING AMAZON
(SEMESTER)
PROGRAM DETAILS
Terms | Fall, Spring
Credits | 18 semester-hour credits
Prerequisites | One semester of college-level ecology, biology, or environmental studies/science | 2.7 GPA | 18 years of age
Application Deadline: Fall: May 1st. Spring: November 1st. Early applications encouraged!
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OVERVIEW
Students climb from cloud forests to lowland jungles, surveying biodiversity, mapping plant–animal interactions, and tracing how altitude shapes life. From ridgelines they see intact canopy stretching in one direction and fields newly cleared for timber and oil in the other. Each trek carries the tension that the world’s richest forests are also among its most endangered. Each dataset transforms from numbers to evidence in a struggle that links Amazon futures to global survival. The days are also filled with joy: the flash of macaws in the trees, river otters floating downstream, and the discovery of rare orchids, sometimes right beside you.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
→ Track pink river dolphins at the Amazon’s birthplace, logging GPS coordinates, group size, behavior, and water conditions.
→ Survey biodiversity turnover from Andes to lowland by establishing permanent GPS plots, cataloging vegetation, and deploying climate loggers.
→ Record ancestral medicinal plant knowledge with Indigenous women healers, noting preparation methods, habitat conditions, and oral histories.
→ Ground-truth a contested logging frontier, setting waypoints at boundary markers, interviewing forest guardians, and mapping disputed areas.
→ Conduct Directed Research: frame a stakeholder-driven question, collect and analyze field data with faculty guidance, and present actionable findings to local partners.
LOCATION
The Peru Center is an oasis of calming nature, while a short walk from the bustling town of Tarapoto, the gateway to Amazon adventures. The Center is connected by a web of pathways lined with flowers, medicinal herbs, and rows of stone terraces teeming with native plant species.
Students have access to wooded hiking trails through protected areas, quiet lofts, and rocking chair patios with panoramic views of the Escalera mountain range.
RESEARCH THEMES
- Climate Change and Conservation Practice
- Landscape Ecology and Habitat Fragmentation
- Biodiversity Assessment
- Forest Health and Recovery
- Indigenous Knowledge and Histories
- Ecosystem Services and Carbon Markets
- Impacts of Development in the Amazon
- Biogeography
- Political Ecology
CORE SKILLS
- Species Identification and Population Monitoring
- Biodiversity Surveys and Habitat Surveys
- Research Plots and Transects
- Interviewing and Mapping Techniques
- Conservation Strategy Assessment
- Basic Spanish Language
- Research Design and Implementation
- Data Collection and Analysis
- Research Presentation
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