Help Women Rangers Saving the Amazon Rainforest

Dear W4C community,

Thank you for choosing to be a part of this project! Your help means so much to us and to the women rangers supported by your donations. I wanted to give you some updates on what our women rangers have been doing. 

Since 2025, our rangers have been working to reforest endangered Colombian magnolia trees at 13 nature reserves across the country. Magnolias are an iconic sight in Colombian forests; they are evolutionarily one of the oldest genus of tree in the world; they evolved before bees even existed. Scientists have found fossil evidence of magnolias up to 90 million years ago. Instead of bees, the trees have developed a special relationship with beetles, who crawl inside the blooms and pollinate them. 

Sadly, these unique trees are threatened by agriculture, logging, and timber exploitation. The magnolia’s wood is highly valued, as it is very beautiful. This makes it a target for illegal logging and timber sale. There are 42 described species of magnolias in Colombia, and 70% of them are threatened, vulnerable, or in danger of extinction. 

This is why Women for Conservation is working with Fundacion ProAves and the Franklinia Foundation to undertake an ambitious project to replant 16,000 magnolia trees in Colombia forests, in and around the Amazon rainforest. We are sponsoring 13 women rangers and 63 local women to collect and nurture magnolia seeds for replanting, and to patrol forests to prevent further deforestation. This project does not only benefit magnolia populations — replanting native forests will also have enormous positive impact for other insect, bird, mammal, and plant species, as well as the ecology of the surrounding area. 

So far, the women have established several magnolia nurseries. They collected seed pods from the forest, sprouted and planted them, and are now caring for them until they are ready to move back to their forest homes. Please find photos of the women caring for saplings below! These rangers are doing vital work restoring some of the world’s most biodiverse and threatened ecosystems, thanks to your support.

It means so much to us that you have chosen to be a part of this project. I hope that you continue to follow along with our women rangers, and check out our website (www.womenforconservation.org) and our Instagram (@womenforconservation) to see what other projects we are working on.

Many thanks,

Libby Henrickson

Global Conservation Programs Coordinator