Glastonbury music festival brings a few things to mind: funky fashion fads, (sometimes) fantastic live music, smelly toilets and of course MUD! This year is set for even more than before. The ground is saturated from a very wet British June with more rain predicted to fall. However, is it really that bad?

”worst mud ever’ causes chaos on festival site’ runs the headline from the Telegraph.

 ‘Mud at Glastonbury Festival- In pictures’ The Guardian then shows us generic pictures of mud. And people standing in, or even better, walking in mud.

‘Glastonbury 2016: These Mud-filled Photos Will Make You So Pleased You Aren’t There Right Now’ The Huffington Post consoles those who couldn’t buy a ticket before they sold out in just 30 minutes!

‘OMG! I got my new pink welly’s muddy :(‘ (Sadly this particular line was genuinely from this writer’s own sister… sigh).

People who have volunteered on the Quest Bolivian Animal Sanctuary Project not only smirk, but also roll their eyes at such comments. The Glasto swamp is nothing compared to the Amazonian water-lands they come face-to-face with! They don’t just walk through a bit of mud to go and watch their favourite band, this is a wander through knee high swamp to go and work with some of the most beautiful, rescued animals in the world!

Welly (or gum boots/rain boots for our friends across the pond) fashion is sadly yet to hit Bolivia. What would be better than wading through water feeding directly to the great Amazon River than being safe in the knowledge that you are doing so in swanky multi-coloured boots? As of 2016 Bolivia is really quite a far way behind other welly-conscious nations. If 1% of the Glastonbury crowd made their way to these incredible centres they would not only help this desperate state of welly fashion, but also help an organisation struggling with the weight of South American animal right abuses. Granted, the later being perhaps of greater impact…

The three Bolivian animal centres, Parque Machia, Parque Ambue Ari and Parque Jacj Cuisi are all part of the organisation Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi and are assisted by their international sponsors, Quest Overseas. This successful relationship has been ongoing for over 15 years and has resulted in many large enclosures being built thanks to the donations from the Quest Overseas volunteers. As well as many hours directly caring for abused, wild animals such as pumas, monkeys, jaguars, ocelots and many other Amazonian species.

Author Bio: Matty Sowinski-Brown is a charity project manager and expedition leader for Quest Overseas in Peru and Bolivia. Graduate from University College London, BA History. Currently residing in Colombia and always looking for new adventures to lead his teams on.