Facilities
The ACEER Foundation supports its education
and research programs in the Amazon with classrooms, field
labs, canopy access systems, demonstration gardens, interpreted
trails, and nature interpretation centers for researchers,
students and others.
This site was funded
in part by a $300,000 grant to ACEER from the National Geographic Society.
The ACEER Foundation has direct access to the various private
reserves under management by Inkaterra, a Peruvian
eco-tourism company. Their reserves include, Reserva Amazónica
Ecological Reserve, and a 340-hectare parcel of primary and
secondary rainforest. This parcel joins
the Tambopata Reserve and Lake Sandoval, a huge oxbow lake
known for its concentrations of birds and butterflies. Both
reserves are located within a 40-minute boat ride of Puerto
Maldonado, the capital of the Madre de Dios region of Peru.
Overnight lodging, meals and services
for visitors are provided by Inkaterra Peru. Their lodge,
Reserva Amazónica is located 7km downriver from Hacienda Concepcion
and within a 10,000-hectare private reserve. ACEER education
programs also include opportunities to visit and study
the cloud forests of the Andes and the "Lost City of
the Incas"-- Machu Picchu.
 Below is a description of the facilities at Hacienda Concepcion . Please accept our invitation to visit us. We also invite your
direct support of our initiatives in the Amazon Rainforest.
Go to Get Involved to learn
how to become a Friend of the ACEER.
A Nature Interpretation Center (NIC) was created in the
main building to educate and inform individuals about
the physical, biological, and cultural elements of the region.
Designed and created by ACEER. the Gardens were dedicated by Dr. James Duke
and Don Antonio Montero Pisco, March 7, 2004. Visitors to
the Gardens can study over 200 species at the main
Jardín de Plantas Medicinales and along the 3.5 km Useful Plants Trail
that highlights an additional 125 species of economically
valuable plants. The Gardens are a commitment by ACEER to promoting and protecting
the rich botanical heritage of the Amazon Rainforest.
The Gardens serve as the focal point for an environmental
education program for the school children of the Madre de
Dios region. The program, De la Escuela al Jardín (From the
School to the Garden) under the direction of Licia Silva
Ortiz, brings school children from Puerto Maldonado and surrounding
communities to the site to learn about the rainforest firsthand
through field studies at the Gardens and many forest trials.
An ambient laboratory was dedicated in October 2005. The
lab has dedicated space for sample analysis and preparation,
and is equipped with running water, work benches, storage facilities,
showers and bathrooms. Funds for the lab were provided
by Chris Davidson and Sharon Christoph.
A trail system provides individuals an opportunity
to discover differences between terra firme and flooded forests;
primary and secondary growth; and the ability of the forest
to re-establish biodiversity after disturbances. Work by Dr.
Alwyn Gentry suggests that a major feature of Amazonia is the
profuse array of micro-niches that help explain the zoological
and botanical diversity of this region. The trail system
brings this phenomenon to all visitors and serves as a living classroom and
laboratory.
Visitors can study the biodiversity of the forest
canopy at the Inkaterra Canopy Walkway, within the 10,000
hectare Inkaterra Ecological Reserve across the river from
the site. It consists of an ascent tower, 400 meters of
tree-top walkways and a descent tower.
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