June 14, 2006
Trans-Amazon Expedition
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Between March, 2007 and November 2008 Dave Freeman and Eric Frost will lead a team of scientists, journalists, and educators on a 2,900 mile journey across South America. The goal of the Trans-Amazon Expedition is to raise awareness about the important role the world's forests play in controlling climate change, and empower people to make changes in their lives, which will protect the world's remaining forests and combat global warming. |
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Dave Freeman answers students questions during a live Internet chat during Project Peru 2006. Expedition members will us laptops and satellite phones to communicate with schools on a daily basis from the Amazon. |
The expedition will be broken into three, six to eight week segments over the course of three school years. Students, teachers, and learners of all ages will participate in the live expeditions through photos, videos, and text posted to the Internet via satellite daily throughout the expeditions. Plus, each year hundreds of classrooms will play an active roll in the expedition by communicating with the expedition team and helping them make decisions using e-mail, moderated chats, online polls, and even live phone conversations with the team. |
Join us from March 26– May 11, 2007 for the first leg of the Trans-Amazon Expedition!
During the first leg of the Trans-Amazon Expedition, the team will hike and
canoe from Lima, Peru to Iquitos, Peru. For the first two hundred miles of the
journey, expedition members will walk from the Pacific Ocean up and over the
Andes Mountains, introducing students to as many eco-zones as can be found between
The North Pole and Equator. Students will also get a chance to witness Andean
culture in an effort to draw parallels between ancient Incan civilization and
modern Peruvian culture.
Geography, history, politics and world cultures become more relevant to students as they communicate directly with others from distant locations.
After crossing the Andes, the team will trade their hiking boots for canoes
and continue their journey through the lowland Amazon rainforest to Iquitos,
Peru, the largest city in the world inaccessible by car or truck.
How can I get my students involved?
- Register with the Wilderness Classroom, download the TAE teachers' guide, and help your students participate at school and at home. Registration is free, and only takes a minute or two to complete.(The TAE teachers' guide will be available starting in January of 2007)
- Attend one of our teacher training workshops and let Dave and Eric provide you with easy ways to integrate TAE into your existing curriculum.
- Sign up for a Wilderness Classroom school assembly and have Dave Freeman and other members of the expedition team visit your school!
Trans-Amazon Expedition: (Total 2,900 miles-- 260 hiking; 2,640 canoe)
| Lima, Peru to Iquitos, Peru (hiking & canoe) | Mar. 20 to May 5, 2007 |
| Iquitos, Peru to Manaus, Brazil (canoe) | Mar. 30 to May 5, 2008 |
| Manaus, Brazil to Bellem, Brazil (canoe) | Oct. 1 to Nov. 10, 2008 |
After crossing South America the Wilderness Classroom plans to conduct a series of dogsledding expeditions across North America. The Trans-North America Expedition is scheduled to begin February 1, 2009 and conclude April 1, 2013. The 8,000-mile journey consists of the following segments.
Trans-North America Expedition: (Total of 8,000 miles by dogsled)
| Nome, AK to Fort McPherson, NWT | Feb. 1 to May 1, 2009 |
| Fort McPherson, NWT to Yellow Knife, NWT | Feb. 1 to April 15, 2010 |
| Yellow Knife, NWT to Churchill, MAN | Feb. 1 to April 15, 2011 |
| Churchill, MAN to IvuJivik, QUE | Feb. 1 to May 1, 2012 |
| IvuJivik, QUE to Goose Bay, QUE | Jan. 1 to April 1, 2013 |
Specific goals of the Trans-Amazon and Trans-North America Expeditions include:
- Increase overall student participation to 100,000 students per year.
- Reach 50,000 students through school assemblies over the next 7 years.
- Increase our website traffic to over 500,000 unique visitors per year.
Updated by dfreeman at June 14, 2006 12:22 PM
