Gabriella, Lilly, Mateo and Nina of Beach Elementary School near Oakland, California, have banded together for the past two years to raise money and protect the rainforest.

This past year, the group decided to enlist help from family, friends and neighbors by throwing a block-party style fundraiser. It included baked goods, games and even a chalk art contest! Attendees purchased tickets to participate in the range of activities, shopped for baked goods and perused the yard sales. Imagination and hard work paid off, as the students were able to save 3,811 acres of rainforest in the Sierra del Divisor mountain range of Peru.

The Sierra del Divisor National Park, protected through a collaboration between Rainforest Trust and local Peruvian conservation partner Center for the Development of an Indigenous Amazon (CEDIA), boasts over three million acres of refuge for 38 medium and large mammal species, including Jaguars, Giant Armadillos and South American Tapirs. Additionally, there are as many as 300 fish species, 365 confirmed bird species, 109 species of amphibians and reptiles and a total of 3,500 plant species thought to exist in the area.

Interested in starting your own grassroots project? Check out our Rainforest Trust Day to see how you can become involved!