Step into the Amazon rainforest with environmental journalist Rhett Ayers Butler, founder of Mongabay, as he shares a lifetime of lessons about connection, resilience, and the hidden systems that sustain life.This episode of Resilience Gone Wild blends vivid storytelling with science to reveal how the smallest sparks of awe, whether a frog’s call, a monkey’s leap, or a single seed, can ignite powerful change in both ecosystems and human communities.What You’ll Learn:* How rainforest biodiversity regulates climate, stores carbon, and supports human health.* The origin story of Mongabay and how one child’s love for frogs grew into a global conservation network.* Why storytelling creates deeper engagement than data alone, and how emotional connection drives action.* Lessons from rainforest communities on balance, restraint, and interdependence.* Practical ways to apply systems thinking to daily choices, from the coffee you drink to the products you buy.Episode Highlights:* 02:35 – Immersive sensory journey through the Amazon rainforest’s hidden rhythms.* 11:42 – Rhett’s childhood fascination with frogs sparks a lifelong mission for conservation.* 19:58 – The founding of Mongabay and the power of digital storytelling to drive global impact.* 27:16 – How a single investigative report in Gabon changed national policy on forest rights.* 34:03 – Encounters with manta rays, orangutans, and other species that reveal animal intelligence and resilience.* 40:25 – Soundscape science: using bioacoustics to measure ecosystem health and biodiversity.* 44:10 – The resilience lesson, how small personal actions ripple outward like seeds in a rainforest.Meet the Guest: