A Colorado native, Paula Givan has worked in Peru’s Madre de Dios region of the Amazon over eight years, navigating the layers of what “boots on the ground” in the rainforest means while interfacing with several non-profit organizations and private individuals during multiple land transfers and transactions.
 
Walking through primary rainforest carries the might and magic of diversity in a field of a thousand shades of green. It’s wise to carry a machete, as excursions in these lands require attention to a maze of twisted vines hiding in dense undergrowth.  So too, does the paper work and myriad layers of bureaucracy surrounding conservation efforts in the region require sharp mental focus and a keen and tenacious spirit.  

With this background, Paula’s commitment in the region takes on deeper layers with the launch of Santa Tierra Castañal and its mission to inspire first-hand and immediate conservation participation.

Believing that people want to be a part of an initiative that celebrates and embraces old growth Amazon forest, our purpose is to place primary rainforest into the limelight by bringing high visibility to the project’s innovation and to the urgent need to find creative solutions to confront global climate change.

Our goal is to build a force of more than 360 old-growth Brazil nut tree sponsors. By placing the names of individuals, families, schools and organizations on plaques at the base of these trees, sponsors know that they are acting globally and collectively, to create a ripple effect that influences the future of vital, intact forest.

We know that preserving the rainforest is intricately connected with the value placed on the human resources dedicated to the forest. As a social entrepreneurial venture, our vision is to build a collaborative network of Brazil nut harvesters who are empowered in their practice of sustainable forest practices.

Paula earned her business degree in entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
She earned her Spanish degree from Metropolitan State University of Denver.

She practiced CranioSacral and massage therapies over sixteen years in the Boulder/Denver area prior to her conservation work in the Amazon.

 

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