Grantee Spotlight: Gustavo Carrasco
On the Edge Fund, Storyteller grantee spotlight
05/05/2025
A powerful story of how traditional knowledge alongside science can protect a delicate ecosystem.
Gustavo Carrasco, a biologist, filmmaker and photographer, is passionate about documenting wildlife and the stories of native communities in the Amazon. Gustavo has worked in this area for a number of years and has been commissioned to work with WWF and NASA. He has worked with Rosa on a number of projects when she was completing her Nat Geo Explorer Award, and now they’re teaming up to bring Rosa’s passion for the Ashaninka people and the Peruvian high-altitude rainforests to life.
Gustavo’s work
Tatiana, a young Asháninka girl with a unique gift for sensing nature, is invited by Dr. Rosa, Gustavo’s conservationist partner, to help protect the high-altitude rainforests of her community deep in the Peruvian Amazon. Eagerly, Tatiana joins a field trip led by Richar, an Asháninka scientist and ranger she deeply admires.
As they search for native stingless bees, hours pass with no success – until Tatiana, tuning into the sounds of the forest, guides the team to a hidden nest, earning their respect. Later, when they set out to track an elusive Amazonian tapir, Tatiana’s senses alone aren’t enough. This time, Richar’s deep knowledge of the forest leads the way. Together, blending Tatiana’s gift and Richar’s experience, they uncover a secret – a vital discovery to get in-depth knowledge of wildlife’s presence and movements.
On the Edge will support Gustavo to work with Rosa to document, for the first time ever, the species and spaces of the last high-altitude rainforests of the Peruvian Amazon, through this collaborative story.
Name:
Gustavo Carrasco
Country of origin:
Peru
Species of choice:
Stingless Bees
Giant Armadillo (VU)
South American Tapir (VU)
Conservationist:
Where to from here?
Catch our Animal Sensemaker episode featuring Stingless bees
In the Amazon and tropical places around the world, armies of stingless bees spend their days collecting nectar from plants and flowers across the forest. Listen here.
Back to On the Edge fund
Discover more about how you can get involved with protecting nature’s underdogs, here.
