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Jessica Gearing, ENVS major, on Field Study in Peru

During March 2007 I traveled to the Upper Amazon River Basin in Peru under the James G. Lester Field Course Grant. I spent Spring Break traveling throughout the river basin studying the natural history of tropical plants and animals and environmental conditions of the area with Dr. Larry Wilson and nine other students in his Tropical Ecology course, and that one week was one of the most defining and rewarding weeks of my life.

Every morning, we woke up before dawn and hiked through the forest or boarded a small boat to look for bird activity. The rest of our day was always spent hiking or boating to different places to identify and study the plants and animals in the region. The place is addicting. You simply cannot understand how vast and powerful the Amazon River is unless you see it yourself, and you definitely cannot comprehend how diverse the area is unless you hike around it. Everywhere we went, we found completely different species of plants and animals—everything from pink dolphins to monkeys to mating cockroaches to toucans (I personally saw three different species of toucan in one day). The schedule was exhausting, but every moment was worth it.

Prior to traveling to Peru, I was unsure of what I wanted to pursue for graduate work. My final year at Emory was approaching, along with graduate school application deadlines, but I knew I could not afford to travel abroad on any of the Environmental Studies research trips. After realizing that I could apply for a grant through the department, I quickly filed my request, and was awarded enough money to enable me to travel to Peru. During my time there, I fell in love with the region and knew I needed to return. I have now been awarded a SIRE Grant that will allow me to return to Peru and study bird behavior in the forest canopy for three weeks.

The Lester Grant allowed me to explore my options for graduate work and the world around me. Looking at my bank account, Peru was completely inaccessible; but once I realized funding was available, it became my main academic and personal focus. Grants sometimes seem too competitive or selective, but one thing I have learned from the Lester Grant, and now from SIRE, is that you never know until you apply. Peru literally changed my life (who knew I loved birds and the rainforest so much?!) and it never would have if I had not applied for the James G. Lester Field Course Grant.