Earth Expeditions

Earth Expeditions is a global conservation program that links formal and informal educators with scientists at conservation hotspots in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. These tuition-free, graduate-credit courses merge the educational expertise of Miami University’s "Dragonfly" with the world-renowned conservation efforts of the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.

Since Earth Expeditions began in 2003, more than 700 educators from 48 US states have been accepted to the program. [http://www.earthexpeditions.org/news/2007/index.php Newspaper, radio, and television stories] profiling Earth Expeditions educators have run in hundreds of news media outlets throughout the country. In 2008, the program will accept approximately 140 educators from throughout the United States.

Earth Expeditions 2008 international graduate courses include:
* [http://www.earthexpeditions.org/field_expeditions/kenya/index.php Kenya: Wildlife & People in Integrated Landscapes]
* [http://www.earthexpeditions.org/field_expeditions/namibia/index.php Namibia: Great Cat Conservation]
* [http://www.earthexpeditions.org/field_expeditions/thailand/index.php Thailand: Buddhism and Conservation]
* [http://www.earthexpeditions.org/field_expeditions/mongolia/index.php Mongolia: Steppe Ecology and Conservation]
* [http://www.earthexpeditions.org/field_expeditions/trinidad/index.php Trinidad: Environmental Education]
* [http://www.earthexpeditions.org/field_expeditions/costa_rica/index.php Costa Rica: Neotropical Ecology]
* [http://www.earthexpeditions.org/field_expeditions/belize/index.php Belize: Forest & Marine Ecology]

A significant component of each Earth Expeditions experience is students' participation in a web-based learning community following each summer international experience. Throughout the fall semester following their summer in the field, all Earth Expeditions graduate students join their Earth Expeditions colleagues and instructors on "Dragonfly" Workshops' web-based learning community. Topics, discoveries, and ideas that arose from face-to-face encounters in the field extend through semester-long learning communities on the web.

Because of the organization's commitment to diversity, the Earth Expeditions' Selection Committee fills each 20-person Earth Expeditions group with educators from all disciplines and settings from pre-K-12 teachers, school administrators, and university faculty, to educators and naturalists from non-school settings, such as zoos, environmental centers, businesses, youth programs, parks, and museums. The Committee -- dedicated to creating diverse Earth Expeditions groups -- looks for new, mid-career, and senior educators and administrators from a broad range of disciplines, backgrounds, and educational settings.

Mission

The mission of Earth Expeditions from Project "Dragonfly" at Miami University and the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden is to build an alliance of individuals with firsthand knowledge of inquiry-driven, community-based learning for the benefit of ecological communities, student achievement, and global understanding.

The image of people who merely pass on and receive knowledge from textbooks has limited utility in an era of rapid social, environmental, and technological change. Earth Expeditions envisions each person as an ambassador who creates as well as transmits knowledge, who promotes authentic dialogue at all levels of society, and who inspires others to do the same. By adopting participatory models of education, schools become centers of investigation, students engage more deeply in their studies, and communities achieve higher levels of self-determination.

Founding partners

Project Dragonfly

Since its inception more than a decade ago, Project "Dragonfly" has reached millions of children, parents, and educators throughout the world with its print, web, and broadcast media. Created by professors in the Western College Program at Miami University and published by the National Science Teachers Association, the project began in 1994 with original funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the launch of "Dragonfly" magazine. "Dragonfly" was the first national publication that placed kids' first-person scientific investigations alongside the discoveries of adult researchers, such as world-renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall. Project "Dragonfly" pioneered the “real kids, real science” approach to learning, and in all of its projects continues to work toward inquiry-driven reform to increase public engagement in science and global understanding. In addition to Earth Expeditions, current Dragonfly programs include DragonflyTV, a PBS children's science television series; iDiscovery, an Ohio-based project reaching 2,000 educators annually; and Wild Research, a new endeavor with the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden to engage the public in science and conservation at zoos and aquariums nationwide. Dragonfly's inquiry-driven learning materials have won the Parents' Choice Gold Medal and two Ed Press Awards. The National Science Foundation has called Dragonfly: "A true innovation," and "a model of what active learning should be."

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is consistently ranked as one of the top zoos in the country.Fact|date=June 2008 Opened in 1875, it is the nation's second oldest zoo and a national historic landmark. The zoo's 75 acres houses more than 500 animal species and 3,000 plant varieties. More than 1.2 million people visit the Cincinnati Zoo annually. This not-for-profit entity is internationally known for its success in the protection and propagation of endangered animals and plants and engages in research and conservation projects around the world.

Miami University

Founded in 1809, Miami University is one of the eight original “Public Ivy” schools and is consistently rated for high-quality programs in national rankings.Fact|date=June 2008 In the 2004 "U.S. News & World Report", Miami is ranked among the top 25 national public universities. For nearly two centuries, Miami University has maintained a strong commitment to liberal arts education and is known for the strength of its teacher education and educational leadership programs.

Worldwide conservation partners

*An indigenous African conservation initiative, the African Conservation Centre brings together the people and skills needed to build East Africa 's capacity to conserve wildlife through sound science, local initiatives and good governance.
*The African Conservation Fund was founded in 2003 by a small group of East Africans, Britons and Americans -- people who have lifelong commitments to the conservation of East Africa's wildlife and cultures.
*The Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center -- begun in 1983 as a last ditch effort to provide a home for a collection of wild animals used in making documentary films about tropical forests -- is located on 29 acres of tropical savanna and exhibits over 125 animals native to Belize.
*The Cheetah Conservation Fund, headquartered in Namibia, Africa, conducts research and implements strategies for cheetah conservation in the cheetah's natural habitat.
*The Centre for the Rescue of Endangered Species of Trinidad and Tobago (C.R.E.S.T.T) champions community-based conservation and education efforts on the islands, including the reintroduction of blue-and-gold macaws.
*Founded in 1991, the Green World Foundation is a Thai non-profit organization that collaborates closely with youth, educators, practitioners, and community leaders throughout Thailand to inspire the development and adoption of environmental ethics, and strengthen the capacity for proactively contributing to the sustainable care of the local environment.
*Founded in 1981, the Snow Leopard Trust is the largest and oldest organization working solely to protect the endangered snow leopard and its Central Asian habitat. The Snow Leopard Trust uses a combination of approaches that focus on partnering with communities in snow leopard habitat -- building community partnerships using science and research to determine key snow leopard habitat, assess wildlife-human conflict levels, and identify potential resources for conservation programs.

External links

* [http://www.snowleopard.org The Snow Leopard Trust website]