The Tiputini Project was hatched three years ago in the Ecuadorean capital of Quito.

The chair of the MacEwan communication department and I were having lunch with Tiputini Biodiversity Station founder and director, Kelly Swing, a professor of tropical ecology at Universidad San Francisco de Quito. I suggested that it would make for an interesting project if we were to bring a group of our journalism students to Ecuador, to take pictures, interview people, and generally tell the story of the research station and the surrounding rain forest.

Earlier that week, we had heard Swing speak about Tiputini and the wealth of species of flora and fauna that lived there – and about the ring of oil exploration that appeared to be closing in on the place.

It was a compelling presentation, to say the least. Despite his easy-going style and relaxed North Carolina drawl, Swing's passion for Tiputini, and nature in general, was palpable ... and contagious.

Finally, last May, the people and the funding came together.

Nine of us – seven students and two teachers – were able to get to Quito and Tiputini, and spend a little less than two weeks – including four days in the rainforest – gathering material.

The plan was to assemble a series of articles exploring the various facets of the Tiputini story, with a vague idea that oil might be a prevailing theme, but I'm not sure any of us expected it to be the prevailing theme. Sometimes, in reading over the stories, one gets the impression that we may be among the last to have the privilege of visiting this wilderness ... while it still is a wilderness.

We couldn't have pulled the project off without Swing. His generosity was breath-taking. He sat for three interviews and set up many more. And he did everything he could to expedite and facilitate the work. We owe him one very large thank-you for all he did to make the project possible.

Finally, if our students'
work leaves a reader with the impression that the Amazon is a world treasure desperately in need of saving, that's probably because it is. And it seems reasonable to conclude that no amount of oil can possibly equal its value.

–Brian Gorman
Associate Professor,
Communication Studies
gormanb3@macewan.ca