On Earth Day (April 22) of 2010 Dave ad Amy Freeman began a three year, 11,700 mile journey across North America by kayak, canoe, and dogsled. Their goal is to use their journey as a platform for gaining support and protection for North America’s waterways and wild places, while actively engaging over 100,000 elementary and middle school students in their journey though this website and live school assemblies.
“We want to educate people about the importance of making healthy choices that simplify life, reduce your global footprint, and provide quality time for friends, family, and outdoor pursuits. We hope to inspire people to make lifestyle changes that are environmentally sound and improve quality of life,” explains Dave.
Their odyssey began by kayak on the Pacific Coast studying temperate rainforests and marine life of the Pacific Northwest, but this was just the first in a series of six stages on their quest to highlight North America's wildest places.
After kayaking 1,400 miles from Seattle, Wash. to Skagway, Alaska, the team trekked over the history-studded mountains in the footsteps of the Klondike Gold Rush, to the home of Inuit along the Arctic Ocean where polar bears roam. From the Arctic Ocean they will dogsled and canoe south through central Canada, kayak across the Great Lakes, then follow the annual whale migration past the salt marshes and sea turtles of the Atlantic Coast, finishing in the mangroves and coral reefs of the Florida Keys.(See route description for more details)
Through lesson plans and daily Web updates, elementary and middle school students will learn alongside the explorers through www.wildernessclassroom.com and adults can follow their progress through www.NorthAmericanOdyssey.com.
Latest News
| What should we study in the Slate Islands? 05/20/2012 We will be spending a few days on the Slate Islands soon. The Slate Islands are a group of islands in Lake Superior located about eight miles from the mainland, near Terrace Bay, Ontario. The Slate Islands are very interesting in several ways. We need your help to decide what we should learn about w [ ... ] |
| The Dinner Dilemma 05/20/2012
|
| Silver Islet and Porphyry Point Lighthouse 05/19/2012  Student Response Worksheet (Lower) Student Response Worksheet (Upper) One week ago we were camped on Pie Island in Thunder Bay. Now we are on Vein Island in Nipigon Bay. It's hard to imagine we are now 100 miles further along on our journey. But we still have so many more miles to go. The fir [ ... ] |
| Kayaking across the mouth of Thunder Bay 05/18/2012
|
| How far should we paddle each day? 05/14/2012 Dave is wondering how long we should paddle each day. We need to average about ten miles a day to stay on schedule. If we paddle just 10 miles a day we will save our muscles a little bit, and we would be able to spend some time each day checking out some cool places. Should we do that? Or, should we [ ... ] |
| What do you want to learn about next week? 05/14/2012 Each week we have decisions to make about where to go, what to see and what to study. So, each week we will ask you to help us make some of those decisions. We hope you will vote on the option you like best to help us determine where to go. We can make an instructional video on cooking where we [ ... ] |
Please wait...
Concept Diagram
