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Saving Trees with Rainforest Connection
In the spring of 2015 we met Topher White. He told us about his experience volunteering at a Gibbon rescue center in Borneo. The center had been illegally logged during his stay there!
The sound of the Cicadas in the forest kept anyone from hearing the chainsaws beyond. The forest needed protectors that could hear everything.
Through that experience Topher figured out a way to turn a used smart phone into a device he called a Guardian. The Guardian units are placed high in the trees to monitor forest activity. He created a non-profit called Rainforest Connection (RFCX) to help protect other forests in need around the world. Tree Monkey Project installs Guardian units high in the rainforest canopy and we train others to continue installations and maintanance. Keep reading to learn more!
This device listens to the sounds of the forest and when it picks up the sound of chainsaws or trucks it sends an alert through the cell network to the owners of the property or the authorities and lets them know there is illegal activity happening, giving them the chance to stop it immediately.
Each guardian is solar powered, connects to cell networks and has to listen to sounds far away.
The trick to make it work properly is that it has to be installed high in the tops of trees. And that's how Topher Connected with Tree Monkey Project.
We had initially trained Topher to climb trees to prepare him for his pilot project in Brazil. A year later he began projects in Ecuador, Peru, Costa Rica, and Romania as well, and he asked if we could provide support in installing these devices for Rainforest Connection in these countries.
Not only did we help in installing and maintaining these devices but we began to teach tree climbing to the Tembé tribe as well.
This is a video interview with Captain Monkey in Borneo for a web documentary. The Title is Lungs of the Earth click here for the full Documentary on Al Jazeera
For more information on Rainforest Connection click on their link
www.rfcs.org
Tree Monkey Project
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