thestation

Yanayacu Biological Station & Center for Creative Studies

There are many people (and animals) who help contribute to the success of Yanayacu. Here are a few that you will likely meet when you come to visit.

Jose Simbaña is from the nearby village of Las Palmas. He originally came to Yanayacu as the "maestro," in charge of expanding our facilities. Later he moved to the full-time station manager position. Since then, he has become the central figure around which the wheels of Yanayacu turn! Currently he does a little bit of just about every job at Yanayacu but is mostly focused on his role as resident biologist and his collaborative studies on nesting birds.

Wilmer Simbaña, like his brother, has become a fixture at Yanayacu. He began working with the Caterpillars and Parasitoids of the Eastern Andes project several years ago, and is now our head "gusanero" leading the way in the field and helping to train and manage students and volunteers who help with the project.

Lindsey Cohen was a member of an all-teacher Earthwatch team that worked on our caterpillar project at Yanayacu. She is from Los Angeles where she has worked as a special education teacher, work experience advisor, and testing coordinator at Venice High. She is our volunteer and student coordinator.

Lucia Salazar, like Jose, is one of our central support staff at Yanayacu. She is from the nearby town of Baeza. She helps with logistics, planning, and managing the station. In addition she is in charge of the natural history portion of our caterpillar rearing project and assists in monitoring bird nests. Basically, she does it all!

Engma Palacios lives in Cosanga, and began working part-time at Yanayacu several years ago, helping to prepare delicious meals for student groups who request a cook. Over the years she has become our go-to chef, often managing a kitchen and cleaning staff of 4-5 local residents.

While we will always cherish the memories of Charapa, Simba, Skoal, Roxy, and Gusano, currently Rain is queen of the Yanayacu domain. When its raining and you are a little down, she is always up for a snuggle.

Beans is the most recent addition to our team, but is learning to fit in just fine.

There are many people (and animals) who help contribute to the success of Yanayacu. Here are a few that you will likely meet when you come to visit.
Jose Simbaña is from the nearby village of Las Palmas. He originally came to Yanayacu as the "maestro," in charge of expanding our facilities. Later he moved to the full-time station manager position. Since then, he has become the central figure around which the wheels of Yanayacu turn! Currently he does a little bit of just about every job at Yanayacu but is mostly focused on his role as resident biologist and his collaborative studies on nesting birds.
Wilmer Simbaña, like his brother, has become a fixture at Yanayacu. He began working with the Caterpillars and Parasitoids of the Eastern Andes project several years ago, and is now our head "gusanero" leading the way in the field and helping to train and manage students and volunteers who help with the project.
Lindsey Cohen was a member of an all-teacher Earthwatch team that worked on our caterpillar project at Yanayacu. She is from Los Angeles where she has worked as a special education teacher, work experience advisor, and testing coordinator at Venice High. She is our volunteer and student coordinator.
Lucia Salazar, like Jose, is one of our central support staff at Yanayacu. She is from the nearby town of Baeza. She helps with logistics, planning, and managing the station. In addition she is in charge of the natural history portion of our caterpillar rearing project and assists in monitoring bird nests. Basically, she does it all!

Engma Palacios lives in Cosanga, and began working part-time at Yanayacu several years ago, helping to prepare delicious meals for student groups who request a cook. Over the years she has become our go-to chef, often managing a kitchen and cleaning staff of 4-5 local residents.
While we will always cherish the memories of Charapa, Simba, Skoal, Roxy, and Gusano, currently Rain is queen of the Yanayacu domain. When its raining and you are a little down, she is always up for a snuggle.
Beans is the most recent addition to our team, but is learning to fit in just fine.