Sea Turtles. Monarchs. Red Wolves, Tapirs, and now the Uakari. In the Learning for Action climate fellowship, these names are more than just identifiers. Since its first iteration, the Learning for Action fellowship has named every cohort after a threatened or endangered species. This little tradition is our way to try and ensure that what we are doing at Terra remains at the center of our work, reminding us daily that the actions we take today directly shape the world of tomorrow.
Our next cohort, the first of 2026, will be the Uakaris.
A Monkey That Wears Its Health on Its Face
Deep in the seasonally flooded várzea forests of Brazil and Peru lives one of the Amazon's most distinctive primates. The bald uakari (Cacajao calvus) is impossible to mistake: a bright crimson face, a completely bald head, and a long shaggy coat that ranges from white to orange depending on the subspecies.
That red face isn't random. A 2015 study by Royal Society Open Science found that the uakari's facial skin is unusually thin, completely lacks melanin pigment, and contains a remarkably high density of blood vessels just beneath the surface. Their face is a living display of its health much like how the Earth reflects the health of its ecosystems through the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the climate we share. When the system is under threat, the signs are visible.
Specialists Who Need Connection
Uakaris have carved out a precise role in their ecosystem. Their powerful lower jaw forms what scientists call a pseudodental comb—a specialized tool that lets them crack open unripe fruits and hard-shelled nuts that other animals simply can't access. Their diet runs about 67% seeds. During the rainy season when the forest floods, they stay in the treetops eating fruits. When the water recedes, they descend to the forest floor to forage for fallen seeds and seedlings.
These monkeys cover serious ground. Groups of anywhere from five to a hundred individuals travel long distances in a single day, searching for fruiting trees. This kind of daily movement requires one thing above all: continuous forest canopy. Uakaris navigate through the treetops, leaping from branch to branch. When the canopy breaks, they get stranded.
Large-scale logging today is creating a problem. It doesn't have to clear-cut a forest to devastate uakari populations—it just has to interrupt the connections between trees. Fragment the canopy, and you fragment an entire population that depends on it.
Bald uakari populations have declined at least 30% over the past 30 years. Their conservation status improved from endangered to vulnerable as data collection improved, but the actual population continues to drop. They're losing their connected world piece by piece.
What the Uakari Teaches Us About Climate Work
There's a reason this cohort carries this name.
The uakari's situation mirrors the central challenge in climate work: isolated efforts don't scale. A single protected forest patch can't sustain a species that needs to travel kilometers daily. A single climate solution, no matter how elegant, can't bend the emissions curve alone.
What the uakari needs is connectivity. What climate work needs is the same.
This is what Learning for Action is built around. Over 12 weeks, you'll work alongside a cohort of professionals who bring different specializations, just as each uakari brings its unique seed-cracking ability to the ecosystem.
You'll move through climate science, policy, economics, and justice not as separate topics but as interconnected systems. You'll learn how solutions in one sector create ripple effects in others. And you'll build relationships that extend far beyond the program itself.
Finding Your Role in the Canopy
Every person who joins LFA brings a different background and skills. The fellowship helps you figure out where your particular skills fit in the broader climate landscape. The uakari reminds us that skills matter most when they're part of a connected whole.
Conservation organizations working in the Amazon to protect the Uakari and other vulnerable species have learned over decades that the most effective strategies don't just protect isolated patches.
The Terra.do community spans over 7,000 people across 85+ countries. Alumni have transitioned into climate roles at organizations, launched startups, and they've brought climate leadership into corporations, governments, and nonprofits. Over 200 alumni now volunteer as mentors, helping new fellows find their path. The connections keep multiplying—people refer each other for jobs, collaborate on projects, show up for each other's work.
This ongoing exchange is what makes the difference between taking a course and joining a movement. The learning gives you knowledge. The community gives you reach.
We're now building the Uakaris cohort. If you're ready to find your role in climate work and help maintain the canopy of connections our solutions need to scale, join us.
Join the Uakaris
We're now building the Uakaris cohort. If you're ready to find your role in climate work and help maintain the canopy of connections our solutions need to scale, join us.