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“Olivia:
Voices for the Rainforest”
Benefit concert for
ACEER in Washington,DC
by Chitra Gunderson
“Every living thing on this earth has a
heart...Every little thing that I am, so you
are...and if you look in my eyes, you will
see we are souls alike...”
Olivia Newton-John’s angelic voice resounds
as she sings “Pearls on a Chain.”
Her heartfelt presence immediately had
everyone’s eyes glued to the stage in rapt
attention at the “Olivia: Voices for the
Rainforest: benefit concert held by the
Amazon Center for Environmental Education
and Research (ACEER) on May 7 at the
National Geographic Society in Washington,
DC.
I can say “I was there” because of an
unexpected call from Amazon Herb Company’s
Founder and CEO, John Easterling. He was
inviting me to attend ACEER’s benefit dinner
and concert by Olivia Newton-John as one of
his guests. I listened to him quietly,
thinking “is this for real?” Honored and
thrilled I immediately accepted!
The evening began with a reception in
National Geographic’s Museum Hall in the
Frogs! A Chorus of Colors exhibition, which
featured frogs from rainforests around the
world camouflaged in their natural
environment displays. There I was amongst
200 guests from around the nation meandering
around the displays talking about frogs,
looking for frogs and counting frogs!
After taking our seats in the banquet hall,
ACEER’s president, Dr. Roger Mustalish began
his opening introductions and overview of
ACEER’s projects. Then, interrupting his
talk, he turned toward the entrance of the
hall and announced, “She has arrived...”
Heads quickly turned to look as Olivia swept
past with the grace of a swan taking her
seat at a nearby table. She was vibrant and
full of life, her eyes and face glowing with
the energy of a young girl... This is Olivia
Newton-John in person!
As a long-time supporter of environmental
causes, Olivia believes that health and
healing is intricately linked to the health
and well-being of Planet Earth. In 2007,
when Olivia was introduced to ACEER’s work
in the Peruvian Amazon by John Easterling,
she immediately connected with their mission
saying, “Your work and your message are just
wonderful and need to get to a broader
audience. I’d like to help you with that. “
With her heart of gold Olivia offered to
perform the benefit concert to help raise
funds for ACEER’s mission of rainforest
preservation in the Amazon and to serve as
an on-going advisor to Dr. Mustalish. In
addition, the meeting led to a partnership
and agreement between the Amazon Herb
Company and ACEER to expand their AMIGOS
Education program.
The Amigos! A Partnership for Education
program provides environmental education in
the Peruvian Amazon to help develop
environmental awareness and sustainable use
of natural resources. The program offers
services which include: workshops for
Peruvian teachers about relevant
environmental issues; Peruvian shcool-initiated
community service projects; cross-cultural
understanding and interactive learning
between U.S. and Peruvian teachers and
students; as well as providing much needed
supplies, materials, and instructional
technology and equipment to teachers and
community members in the urban areas of
Iquitos and Puerto Maldonado.
Now, as a result of the recent partnership
between ACEER and the Amazon Herb Company,
the Amigos! A Partnership for Education is
expanding to include the rural villages
along the Rio Pisqui and near Pulcallpa in
Peru’s central rainforest. The Director of
ACEER’s Peru Programs is already meeting
with members of the native communities to
assess their needs. Teacher training and
learning materials for all village schools
is expected to be in place in time for the
start of the new Peruvian school year.
This expansions is made possible by a
generous grant of $50,000 to ACEER by the
Amazon Herb Company,” says Dr. Mustalish.
“We’re excited by our new partnership
between Amazon Herb Company and ACEER. We
value the confidence they have in ACEER; it
is a testament to the good work we do in
villages and cities throughout the Peruvian
Amazon.”
“When I met Roger it was one of those
ACEER-endipitous moments,” says John
Easterling, “to realize that we both have
been going down there for 30 years and we
were operating in parallel universes. We
(Amazon Herb Company) like to help get the
indigenous communities the rights, deeds and
title to their land because it empowers them
to make decisions about their own future.
When I met Roger I quickly recognized the
work that ACEER is doing is so critical.
“When you go up river a couple of days in a
dugout canoe to the communities and see the
education people are receiving from ACEER,
it confirms how important it is...they now
recognize what a great asset the rainforest
is and how important it is to the rest of
humanity, to every species. The education in
those communities at the village level, when
you see the children beginning to learn the
value of bio-diversity and the value of the
ecology with the curriculum that ACEER
offers, then you can understand how it fits
into the framework of a sustainable
rainforest into the future.”
In Peru at ACEER’s Rainforest Canopy Walk,
Dr. Jim Duke, founding member of ACEER, and
world-renowned Rainforest Ethno-Botanical
Scientist, explains, “We are on top of the
world here, in one of the most diverse
forests...on top of all that, yet it is the
least studied. By promoting the study of
these forests with the local kids, we are
trying to instill in them respect for this
great Amazonian world...the forest standing
is much more valuable to them and Peru’s
grandchildren than a forest converted to a
soybean farm.”
The Amazon Herb Company has taken positive
steps to protect the Amazon Rainforest for
over fifteen years. Recognized as a
pro-active leader the partnership with ACEER
leverages the potential to significantly
increase the projects in the Amazon.
“ACEER’s work is a great example of what can
be achieved to promote conservation, protect
indigenous rights, and, as we like to say,
is beyond good business,” says John
Easterling.
Beyond good business is what the Amazon Herb
Company is all about. It is a business that
creates a win-win for all concerned:
financial benefit to indigenous communities,
preservation of rainforest lands, and
improving the health of modern civilization.
We owe it to the Amazon rainforest and we
owe it to ourselves to do our part.
”This Amazon is part of our life, whether
we live here or not.”
- Jean-Michel Cousteau
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