Finding
the
scientist.
Real work.
Real science.
Real stakes.
Joey's approach from the start: find the real scientist doing the work on the specific fish he chose. Not a general conservation organization. A specific researcher, in the field, on the specific species.
For Year 1, he found her. Dr. Lesley De Souza — a woman scientist who has spent years working in the Amazon, studying arapaima populations, and building the data that conservation decisions depend on. She works with local communities. She knows the fish. She is doing the work that needs to be done.
Joey found her through research — reading papers, following citations, tracking down who was actually in the field. He studied her methods, learned what she was working on, and made her mission part of his own. That's the model. Find the scientist. Learn what they know. Tell everyone about it.
De Souza
Freshwater biologist specializing in large-bodied Amazonian fish species and community-based conservation approaches.
lesleydesouza.comBasin
Active fieldwork across Brazilian and Peruvian Amazon river systems, working directly with local fishing communities.
Joey's goal is to make sure people know her name, know her work, and understand why it matters. Conservation science is underfunded and under-known. A seven-year-old with a website and a mission is doing something about that.