protected forever, of which
Thanks to YouTopia and
through wilderness runs.
Together with you, we were able to protect an incredible 3.79 millionm2 old-growth forest in Canada and Peru forever this year - and were even able to beat last year's great result!
In Peru, we were able to purchase 191.65 hectares of new land, and 91.26 hectares in Canada. On our online map you can see all the areas we are currently protecting, as well as current aerial photos and the protection status.
New pieces of land are added on a regular basis. Our goal is to protect large, contiguous habitats.
Our agroforestry project did not start until the end of 2023 - so we are all the more pleased that we were able to see initial progress in April of this year. The aim of the project is still to train Peruvian farmers in agroforestry and sustainable cultivation practices in order to sustainably protect the Madre de Dios region, where our protected areas are located, minimize the causes of deforestation and develop alternative sources of income together with the families. To this end, we have teamed up with two local agroforestry pioneers: Camino Verde and Fundo Ten Paciencia.
Part of the project is not only the cultivation of a wide variety of local crops that thrive in the shade of large jungle giants, but also the study of the behavior and production potential of honey bees and wild bees in order to provide local families with bee colonies in the future.
Conventional biodiversity monitoring is usually extremely time-consuming and expensive. As part of our eDNA project launched in March 2024, we are testing a completely new type of eDNA collection together with ETH Zurich and with the support of the Audi Environmental Foundation and drones from our partner DJI: fast, minimally invasive, precise and also cheaper in the long term. By using drones, we have the opportunity to take samples in regions of the rainforest that are otherwise very difficult to access - for example the crowns of jungle giants. During our expedition, 36 samples were taken by drone at 3 locations in the Foundation's Peruvian protected areas.
On our Canadian expedition in spring, we also took 19 eDNA samples from 3 ecosystem types; 10 of them as water samples, 9 as surface samples. We already received the first results in October. If you take the samples from Canada that have already been analyzed together, a total of 225 species could be detected - that corresponds to an average of 40 species per sample! And all of these species are protected by you!
While we were there, work also began on building a solar power plant! Thanks to the support of the Audi Environmental Foundation, the Secret Forest research and forest guardian:indoor station has finally had self-sufficient energy since April 2024, which significantly improves the working conditions on site and increases the quality of life.
In April, we flew high above our Peruvian protected areas. Together with Brock Ryder from Drones for Earth, we flew over 100 km2using drones with LIDAR sensors and 250 km2 with RGB sensors. We use the resulting high-resolution images to show you transparently and comprehensibly which piece of land has been protected by each donation, down to the square meter!
In summer 2024 we have started a new scholarship program in Peru! The scholarship offers Peruvians with a passion for nature conservation and research as well as a suitable field of study (biology, botany, etc.) the opportunity to research the flora and fauna of their homeland, pass on knowledge and contribute to the protection of the surrounding forest. So far, 6 scholarship holders have already taken part. Xiomara, one of our first scholarship holders, decided to become part of our forest guardian team after her experience in the rainforest - we are still very happy about that!
In March, we traveled to Peru with some of our long-standing partners to show them the impact of their commitment on the ground. We were also able to get to know our new forest guardian:inside partners, launch new research projects such as our eDNA analysis, examine the positive developments of ongoing projects and take a first look at new potential protected areas. The second, smaller Peru expedition in April was all about land mapping in order to produce new high-resolution drone images of our protected areas.
Our expedition team together with our Peruvian forest guardian:innen and partners
This was followed at the end of May by the expedition to our protected areas on Porcher Island in British Columbia, Western Canada. The strong winds and extremely high waves, which almost washed away our camp on more than one occasion, were a challenge not only for us, but also for the content creators who accompanied us. Nevertheless, the expedition was a complete success! We expanded the scientific monitoring of our protected areas and used camera traps and audio sensors for the first time in Canada and took eDNA samples. We also had some breathtaking animal encounters during our expedition - on the one hand with the shy coastal wolf and on the other with a family of orcas close to the beach!
Our creators Felix Michels aka Tomatolix, Jacob Beautemps aka Breaking Lab, Rick Azas, Theresa Kirchner and Dennis Schmelz captured these and many other moments in their videos.
Click here for the playlist with all videos from Canada.
For some time now, we have been working with great, committed individuals who are using their reach to protect endangered wilderness areas. This year, we have given this commitment a framework with our Wilderness Ambassador program. Whether environmental expert, musician, education officer or content creator - our wilderness ambassadors give their voice to the forest and support us together with you on social media, at events and with their own campaigns.
Robert Marc Lehmann has already accompanied us on several expeditions, published two great documentary series on YouTube from our protected areas, also supports us by selling his books and merchandise and regularly sets donation records together with the Mission Earth community.
Theresa Kirchner, Rick Azas, Felix Michels (aka. Tomatolix) and Jaco Beautemps (aka. Breaking Lab) accompanied us to Canada in 2024, published numerous videos from the expedition and hosted the YouTopia donation livestream in November.
Yvonne Arnolds and Fabian Kahl accompanied us to Peru in 2024, supported us together with other antiques experts at our appraisal days and were guests on YouTopia.
Jeremy Grube and Yvonne Pferrer also visited our protected areas in Peru in 2024 and have been using their extensive reach to raise funds for wildlife conservation ever since. Both were also guests on YouTopia.
Dennis Schmelz accompanied us as a filmmaker on our Canadian expedition and on YouTopia. His behind-the-scenes videos and vlogs perfectly capture the Wilderness International spirit!
Hannah Kaiser supports us on her social media profiles and was also part of YouTopia. Further campaigns are planned for 2025.
Otto Bulletproof has supported us on YouTopia. Joint campaigns are planned for 2025.
YouTuber Tomary was already in Peru with us in 2023, experienced the rainforest with all his senses and published two videos about his experiences.
Marie from Wurzelwerk collected donations for wilderness protection in her store during Green Week and was a guest on YouTopia.
Once again this year, there were many great campaigns in which we worked together with our partners, ambassadors and of course you to protect endangered wilderness areas.
Since February, for example, you have been able to immerse yourself in the rainforest life-size in the middle of a 30-metre-high 360° panorama in the Dresden Panometer. This also includes an exhibition with lots of exciting information about the green lungs of the earth, in which we are of course also represented.
In September, we celebrated Tropical Forest Day in the Panometer together with our partner DIAMIR and presented our interactive forest there for the first time. We also took you on a virtual trip to Canada and Peru at the DIAMIR Globetrotter Days in November and had lots of exciting discussions.
.png)
A joint campaign with our ambassadors Fabian Kahl and Yvonne Arnolds was our treasure event at the Dresden Elbhangfest in June. Together with his "Bares für Rares" colleagues Julian Schmitz-Avila, Christian Vechtel and his brother Tobias Kahl, Fabian examined the items brought in by more than 250 Dresdeners and discovered many a treasure. Thanks to the donations collected this weekend, 2,500m2 of old-growth forest could be protected forever!
But of course these were by no means all the campaigns. We keep receiving emails and news of campaigns that you are planning and carrying out independently to raise funds for the preservation of the rainforests. We can only take our hats off to so much voluntary commitment and creativity!
We have had a great new feature on our website since November: the interactive forest. This virtual representation of our protected areas can be visited here with or without VR glasses. You can view the different regions in a 360° view and discover lots of exciting audio snippets, videos and picture galleries from our expeditions. You can even stand under a mighty jungle giant and experience the forest you are protecting (almost) up close!
A very special highlight in 2024 was the YouTopia donation stream. What began in June with 4 creators and our Canada expedition culminated in a six-hour livestream on YouTube and Twitch on November 17, 2024: together with the participating creators, all the guests and the overwhelming support of the viewers, we were able to provide entertaining information about sustainability and environmental protection while protecting over 100,000m2 of rainforest forever!
This year, our team has grown diligently to be able to protect even more wilderness with you!
Our Canadian sister foundation can now protect even more forest than before thanks to donations from new partnerships! Thanks to Stephen, we now have more support for land purchases, administration and finances.
Our Canadian sister foundation can now protect even more forest than before thanks to donations from new partnerships! Thanks to Tyler, we now have more support for land purchases, administration and finances.
Tyra Bain supports us with her vast knowledge of marine mammals - especially orcas and other whales - and is responsible for communications in the Canadian team.
Good bookkeeping is important for the responsible and transparent use of funds - which is why Claudia no longer "only" supports us on a voluntary basis, but with all her womanpower.
In order to reach more and more people and inspire them with our mission, communication and environmental education are the be-all and end-all. Rike supports us in this and takes care of social media, our blog, the newsletter and much more.
Chris creates and manages partnerships with creators that allow us to reach new communities, explain the importance of forest conservation and protect forests together.
Our protected forest areas are getting bigger and bigger, so we need more Forest Guardians to ensure long-term protection. Xiomara joined us after her scholarship, which makes us all the happier!
Anne establishes and manages new long-term corporate partnerships, with whose donations we can reliably protect large quantities of forest in the long term and bring more sustainability into companies.
Vincent is also looking for new long-term corporate partnerships, with whose donations we can reliably protect large quantities of forest in the long term and bring more sustainability to companies.
New corporate partnerships: Off the Path, Intaba Reisen, expansion of partnership with Ortlieb
New cooperation partners: Panometer Dresden (DDV)
New research partnerships & scientific collaborations: ETH Zurich, TH Nuremberg, University of Göttingen, FH Hagenberg, Wilder Sensing, Spygen and NatureMetrics, Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, Ocean Wise and Whale Interpretive Centre, Emlid