Seeing the Forest, the Trees, and the People in Them

“Schaufeld’s philosophy on “making an impact” reaches beyond her neighborhood with her involvement with the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT), a nonprofit organization that works to protect the earth’s most diverse terrestrial ecosystem in partnership with the land’s indigenous people. Having visited the rainforest and learning that protecting the culture and way of life of the tribes is imperative to saving the land, Schaufeld recognized the groundbreaking work of the small group and became a board member. “It is not about just saving beautiful trees. Our climate is dependent on the moisture that accumulates over the rainforest. It creates rainfall across the entire area of South America. When you don’t have that, you have desert,” she says. “It is really important for climate reasons and biodiversity to learn about the plants and animals and protect the knowledge that those indigenous tribes have.”