Nina Watson: Amazon River Facts - Source, Ecosystem, & Wildlife (My School Project)

🔗 Follow the Show & Support Us
Click here to follow Adventure Diaries – new stories every week.

Today on Adventure Diaries, we welcome Nina Helen Watson—a bright, inquisitive young explorer who turned a school assignment into a beautifully told podcast on one of the world’s greatest rivers: the Amazon.

At almost ten years old, Nina guides us through the source of the Amazon near Mount Quehuisha in Peru, its astonishing biodiversity, and a few facts you may not believe—like how it once flowed in the opposite direction. She talks jaguars and giant otters, pink river dolphins and capybaras (her personal favorite), all while threading it together with the clarity and confidence of someone twice her age.

What starts as a geography lesson quickly unfolds into something bigger: a celebration of curiosity, family support, storytelling, and the way learning can become magical when it’s shared.

We talk about:

• Where the Amazon River really begins—and how close it is to the Pacific
• The complex ecosystems that sustain some of Earth’s rarest wildlife
• How the river flows through nine countries and multiple indigenous cultures
• Nina’s personal favorites: from capybaras to rain-soaked camping trips
• Why local river cleanups matter—and how you can take part

Her ‘Call to Adventure’ is a gentle one: go camping, reconnect with nature, and bring good snacks. And her ‘Pay it Forward’ is equally grounded—help clean up a local river and notice what grows around it.

This episode is packed with joy, insight, and the reminder that wonder doesn’t need to be complicated. Sometimes, it sounds like a capybara pencil case and a story well told.

📚 Resources & Mentions

• 📍 Apacheta Valley & Mount Quehuisha, Peru – Source of the Amazon
• 🐬 Pink River Dolphin – A unique Amazonian species
• 🐊 Black Caiman – Apex predator of the Amazon
• 🐒 Capybara – The world’s largest rodent
• 🐍 Green Anaconda – One of the world’s biggest snakes
• 🧭 Francisco de Orellana – Spanish explorer who named the river
• 🌿 Indigenous river names like Riomar Tama
• 📖 Dork Diaries – Nina’s favourite book
• 🎬 The Lion King – Her favourite film
• 🌍 Local River Cleanup – Nina’s Pay it Forward suggestion
• 🏕️ Go Camping – Her Call to Adventure

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating, share it with a curious soul, or ask a young person what they love about nature. You might be surprised by the answer.

Thanks for listening.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to the Adventure Diaries Podcast
• 0:31 Meet Nina Helen Watson
• 1:45 Exploring the Amazon River
• 2:45 The Source of the Amazon River
• 3:55 Amazon's Complex Ecosystem
• 5:03 Wildlife of the Amazon
• 7:02 Fun Facts About the Amazon River
• 10:00 Closing Traditions and Quickfire Questions
• 13:42 Final Thoughts and Farewell

Transcript

 This one is quite fascinating. Did you know that the Amazon River once flowed in the opposite direction? I did not know that. It's at the beautiful Aita Valley near the slopes of Mount Quisha and Peru. Wow. Firstly, well done for that pronunciation. This one, I think this one has got to be my personal favorite.

I think it's really fascinating. Did you know that? It's named after a Welcome to another episode of The Adventure Diaries. Today we are joined by Nina Helen Watson, a budding young explorer who's turned a school project. And to a deeper exploration of the Amazon River today, Nina takes us through the complex ecosystems.

The biodiversity, the source, and some real fun facts about the Amazon River. We discussed the wildlife and including her favorite rainforest animals with pink river dolphins and capi bears topping the list. Nina's research rooted in curiosity. Her confidence in public speaking and her knack for connecting ideas reveal the real magic here, that learning is better when you collaborate and share it with others.

A call to adventure, well, camping tents, stars, and of course plenty of snacks. So settle in and enjoy this fantastic conversation with Nina Helen Watson. Nina, Helen Watson. Welcome to the Adventure Diaries. How are you? I'm good, thank you. Excellent. As am I. I am so, so excited for this. I've been looking forward to this all week.

I cannot wait. I believe the topic for today, Nina, is a river. Is that correct? Yep. It sure is. And it, I believe it's the mighty Amazon River. Yep. So tell us what, why are we here today talking about the Amazon River? It's for a school project at my school. Is it what? What year are you in? Primary five.

Primary five. So you are two years away from the serious stuff? The big school. And I'm sure there'll be many more of these projects to come. We've already had one before this as well, so it's not our first. Right. Confident practiced. We, well, we can expect this is going to be well researched and I, I suspect So what topics, what topics are we going to talk about with regards to the Amazon?

We've got the source, the ecosystem, wildlife, and the fun fact. Wow. That is very organized. That is very structured. So, well, let's get into it then. Tell us about the source of the Amazon River. What have you researched? Well, I know that it's a. The beautiful Aah Valley near the slopes of Mount Quisha and Peru.

Wow. Firstly, well done for that pronunciation and tackling that that's not easy for us Scottish people to pronounce. Are you sure? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Confident, confidence. What else can you tell us about this horse? Well, I've got something interesting about about it to tell you. Okay, go for it. It's surprisingly close to the Pacific Ocean Also.

Did you know it's only 192 kilometers away from the Pacific Ocean? Wow, I did not know that. That is fascinating. That's something I think I would need to go and dig into further afterwards. So, excellent. So we've got the, I can't even pronounce it. Oh, I apologize. Okay. Valley, is that correct? Is it the Valley?

Yes. Yes. Excellent. And where is it? It's in, it's in Peru. Oh. 'cause it goes through like nine countries as well. So. Sources in Peru. Right. Fantastic. Right. So what have we got next? After the source? They've got the ecosystem. The ecosystem is getting complex. So talk to us about the Amazon's ecosystem. Well, it's a complete biodiverse web of interactions between living organizers and their non-living environment.

Wow. I don't know what to say to that. That is fantastic. That is super complex and beyond my small brain. Thank you. So what, what else can you tell us about the ecosystem? Well, I can tell you how it worked. I'm all ears. Go for it. It's a complex and interconnected web of life by the river's flow, the surrounding rainforest and its unique hydrological cycle.

Excellent. You, you nailed that again. I, again, I would've struggled with that. So that's, that is fascinating and that's a very complex. That's a very complex topic, so a lot of interconnected connectedness with the wildlife, with the, the environment, the organisms. That probably sounds like a, a perfect opening to talk about your next topic of wildlife.

Right. Go for it. So what do you know about the wildlife of the Amazon? What can people learn about the types of creatures that live in the Amazon? I've researched some about beside the river and in the river. Okay. Let's start with beside the river then. What can our creatures and animals have? We got.

Beside the river, the Amazon River, well, you would normally find a Jaguar rainforest monkey, a cafe barra, a green anaconda, and a poison dart frog Anacondas. I'm not a sneak person, neither am I. Excellent. So, so what else, what have we got in the river? Well, anacondas also go in the river as well. Just the FYI.

So be careful if you dip your toes. Right. So what, uh, what are, what can you tell us about the animals in the river? Well, you would normally find a pink river dolphin, a giant altar, a piranha, a black cayman, and a vast array of other wildlife and fish. Wow. Wow. Wow. So that's very, very biodiverse that's alive with wildlife.

What kind of, let me ask you a question. What's your favorite Amazonian animal or wildlife? Well, I'm between two and between a Cafe Barrett and a Pink River Dolphin, pink River Dolphins. That's fascinating. Uh. What's a Kappy bar? Is that a little monkey or something? Well, it is actually the biggest rod in the world, but people really seem to like them and think they're very cute and perhaps I am one of them.

So you think Kappy Bar are cute? Yes. Yeah. Case and school is themed on Cafe Bar. Excellent. Excellent. Well, it's big rodents have got to have some fans and yeah. Well, excellent. So we have covered the source, we have covered the ecosystem, we have covered the wildlife. What else have you done in terms of research and what else can you share with us today, Nina, about the Amazon River?

I think it's time for some fun, fat. Don't you? Yeah, I do. I do indeed. Excellent. My favorite part of the show. Excellent. When we get into the factoids, right, go for it. This one is quite fascinating. Did you know that the Amazon River once flows in the opposite direction? I did not know that. Uh, and that's a head scratcher.

Need to figure out why it flowed in a different direction. That's something I think I need to go and research and maybe others should go and research after this. So that is is incredible. Excellent. What next, did you note that it's the second largest river in the wild by volume, so it's been kept. What's the largest then?

I would say the Nile. And you would be correct. Excellent. Excellent. Fascinating. Uh, any more facts? Got two more. Okay. Don, you, you know that it's the second longest river in the world. The second, so it's come in second again, don't, what shall, I guess, is it, is it the Nile again? It sure is. That sounds like a follow up project.

River number two, maybe The Nile. Okay. But let's get back to the Amazon. What else have you got? This one, I think this one has got to be my personal favorite. I think it's really fascinating. Did you know that it's named after a Greek myth? Well, I did, and there's more to that story actually. It was actually named, well, as we westerners understand it today.

It was, it was named by a Spanish Explorer, Francisco Ora, and that was back in 1500 and. Something 12. Yeah. Round about that time. Anyway, I can't remember the exact date. And he named it after the fearsome and mighty Amazon woman that fought against him. And which links back to the, the Greek mythology. For Amazon as well.

So there's a lot more to that story. And there's also various other names from the various countries where the, the Amazon flows, the indigenous people have various names for that over the years from Wilmar to Kuna. K. So there are more facts in terms of names of the Amazon River. Well that's fast thing.

I guess I've learned something as well today. Excellent. You have indeed. You have indeed. So. That is at the end of your topics, Nina. Here it is. Well, that has been fascinating. We've learned about the source through Peru and the places that I won't try and pronounce again 'cause I've done it very poorly.

We have learned about the ecosystem. A very complex topic covered that very well. That's very, very thoroughly researched. The wildlife, Jaguars, ana condos, personal favorite. Yep. Capy, Barass, Caymans, Ana, condos, poison, dark frogs. Lots of, lots of fantastic wildlife. And then some fun facts. Who knew? It flowed in the opposite direction.

That is, that is fascinating. So this has been. Insightful and it has been fun. Nina, Helen Watson. I think it's time that we move into the closing traditions on the Adventure Diaries. Are you ready? I am. Yep. So I have formally two, but not now have three closing Tradi Traditions on show, one of which is a paid forward suggestion.

The second is a call to adventure, and the third is some quickfire q and E. So firstly, Nina is a paid forward suggestion to listeners or viewers to raise awareness for worthy projects or worthy charities. What would you see is a paid forward recommendation? I would say. Go and tell out with river cleanup to a local river.

Excellent, excellent. So a litter picking trash cleanup in the local rivers. Keep your rivers clean. Excellent. That's very on topic. So secondly, a call to adventure, Nina. So a recommendation from you, the guests, to listeners and viewers to do something more adventurous. So get outside and away from screens and stuff.

So what would your call to adventure be to, to everyone? I would say you should go camping. It's really fun and it's a good way to have fun with your family and also have really good snacks. Let's not forget the snacks. Excellent. So go camping. And it's fantastic weather. A fantastic time of the year for for camping.

Excellent. So this has been fantastic. So it's now time for me to really turn it back on you, so I too have my 10 closing questions, my quick fire questions to end this insightful discussion about the Amazon. So for some fun, you know. So 10 questions. Are you ready? Yeah. Question number one, if you could eat any animal for a day.

What would you be and why? Chicken, because it's really yummy and like you can get all sorts of types of it. You can get fried chicken, you can get roasted chicken, all sorts of stuff like that. I'll let you away with that. I'm not quite sure you got the context because you wouldn't want to eat yourself, would you?

Question number two. What is your favorite ever adventure? That's a hard one. I've gotta think. Kick and choose. That's really hard one. I've got quite a couple. Well pick one. Pick. What's the first one that comes to mind? Well, when, um, I mean, my family went to Birmingham. Excellent. Excellent. Yeah. Brilliant.

Excellent. So question number three, Nina, if you could invite anyone to a dinner party, who would it be? My mom and my dad. Who's your dad? Yeah, just in case people didn't realize. Uh, question number four. What is your favorite movie? This one isn't hard for me. It would have to be Lion King. Excellent, excellent.

Number five, what is your favorite book? Oh, dork Diaries. Okay, and interesting. Number six. What was the last music gig you went to, even though you were, you're a child, what was the last music gig you went to in the Taylor Swifts concert? Uh, you did indeed. Uh, number seven. If you could snap your fingers and be anywhere doing anything, what would it be?

In Mexico, playing in a pill. Excellent. Number eight. What scares you? Snakes. Snakes. Snakes. And Australian spiders. Even though I've never seen one. Good. Good, good. Number nine, what makes you happy? Everything. Everything. Excellent. That's it. Positive attitudes. And then number 10, what is the best advice that you have ever had?

Never judge a book Bites cover. Fantastic. Fantastic. And that is as at the end of this fantastic little podcast. My favorite podcast to date. Nina, you have been an absolute star. Thank you very much for sharing everything about the Amazon Rainforest you have researched. I wish you all the best with your project and your submission.

It's been a pleasure. Thank you for coming on today. Your family your favorite. Welcome. I've enjoyed it a lot as well. Excellent. And with that, Nina, we'll bring it to our close. Thanks for tuning in to today's episode. For the show notes and further information, please visit adventure diaries.com/podcast.

And finally. We hope to have inspired you to take action and plan your next adventure, big or small, because sometimes we all need a little adventure to cleanse that bitter taste of life from the soul. Until next time, have fun and keep paying it forward.