Trans-Amazon Expedition

Between April 2007 and November 2008 Dave Freeman, Amy Voytilla, and Eric Frost led a team of scientists and educators on a 3,000 mile journey across South America.

Our educational program is designed to improve students reading, critical thinking, and communication skills and stresses the importance of learning and exploration by introducing students to the plants, animals, and people of one of the world's wildest places, the Amazon Rainforest.

Dave Freeman answers students questions during a live Internet chat during Project Peru 2006. Expedition members use laptops and satellite phones to communicate with schools on a daily basis from the Amazon.

The goal of the Trans-Amazon Expedition was to empower people to make changes in their lives, which will protect the world's remaining forests and combat global warming.

The expedition was broken into three, six to eight week segments

over the course of three school years. Students, teachers, and learners of all ages participate in the live expeditions through photos, videos, and text posted to the Internet via satellite daily throughout the live expeditions.

We hope that you enjoy the photos, videos, podcasts, and other information that is available through our expedition updates.
The team made it to mouth of the Amazon River on November 17th! Thank you for joining us for the Trans-Amazon Expedition. We hope you will continue to explore our site and join us for future learning adventures.

The expedition team is glad to be done, but we already miss the rhythm of our paddles, the sounds of the rainforest, and meeting new people. We certainly learned a lot about the animals and plants of the rainforest. We learned about new cultures and lifestyles. And we spent time thinking about ways to make this a better world. We want to find out what you learned from the expedition! What did you learn about the Amazon? Did you learn about a new culture or country? Did we inspire you to get outside and explore new places? What will you take away from The Trans-Amazon Expedition? Is there anything that you will change about your lifestyle or habits to be more environmentally-friendly? What are you doing to make our planet better? Answer to yesterday's dilemma: Wow! You had tons of ideas for things we should bring back. We were not able to get everything you mentioned, but we able to find some pottery, a bow and arrow, coins and money from Brazil, and some clothing from Brazil. We will bring as many things as possible with us when we do school visits. See you then! Dave, Amy, Eric, Anne, Jay, and Tony

What is your favorite part of the Trans-Amazon Expedition?

Posted on November 21, 2008 | | Answer the dilemma! (26)

Use your mouse to hunt for clues in the space below.

Mystry Clue #1: Those are not wrinkles.

Mystery Clue #2: I live on dry land.

Mystery Clue #3: Some say I carry my house on my back.

Macaws are not only some of the most beautiful birds in the rainforest, but they're also some of the loudest. During one of our first trips into the rainforest, we were hopeful that we would get a glimpse of a macaw in the wild. It didn't take long before we heard a group of over 30 macaws loudly squawking. We were able to follow their loud cries and watch them before the whole group flew off to another fruit tree.

Macaws are the largest member of the parrot family. Macaws are brightly colored, and can be red, green, gold, blue, and purple. They build their nests very high off the ground (over 100 feet), where they lay their eggs and search for food.

Macaws need huge areas, or ranges, to live in. They spend most of the day flying from tree to tree in search of food. The rainforest's trees offer macaws plenty of their favorite foods: fruit and nuts. Their incredibly strong beaks are able to crush hard nut shells. Their feet are very strong and graceful, which allow them to climb branches and grab fruit.

We'll continue to keep our ears and eyes out for macaws. With their loud cries, they should not be too hard to find!

For more information on macaws, check out the following web pages:

Wilderness Classroom Rainforest Library

National Geographic Animal Facts, Habitats, Video, and Sound

San Diego Zoo's Animal Bytes: Macaws

Posted on November 18, 2008 |