OxTalks will soon move to the new Halo platform and will become 'Oxford Events.' There will be a need for an OxTalks freeze. This was previously planned for Friday 14th November – a new date will be shared as soon as it is available (full details will be available on the Staff Gateway).
In the meantime, the OxTalks site will remain active and events will continue to be published.
If staff have any questions about the Oxford Events launch, please contact halo@digital.ox.ac.uk
Seminar followed by Q&A, drinks and book signing – all welcome – join in person or online
The Amazon Rainforest — vast, mysterious, and teeming with life — has long captured the imagination of explorers, scientists, and storytellers alike. Yet today, it stands at a crossroads, facing mounting threats from deforestation, climate change, and cultural erosion. In this talk, Andean-Amazonian scientist and author Rosa Vásquez Espinoza takes us on a deeply personal journey into the heart of the Amazon. Blending indigenous wisdom with cutting-edge science, she explores the rainforest not just as an ecosystem, but as a living, breathing entity — one that holds profound lessons for resilience, healing, and our connection to the natural world. Drawing from her book The Spirit of the Rainforest, Rosa shares intimate encounters with Amazonian communities, revealing how their ancestral knowledge offers a vital perspective in the face of environmental crises. She explores her own experiences navigating remote ecosystems, discovering biodiversity known to very few, and rekindling our innate sense of wonder and the spirit of exploration.
Dr Rosa Vásquez Espinoza is a Peruvian chemical biologist with Andean-Amazonian indigenous roots, National Geographic Explorer, and UN Harmony with Nature Scientist. She is founder of Amazon Research Internacional, where she bridges ancestral knowledge and modern science to protect Amazonian biodiversity, with a focus on stingless bees, medicinal plants, and microbial life in extreme environments.
