Over the past few years I’ve covered several interesting expeditions that have been organized and conducted by the amazing team from impossible2Possible. For instance, last year they sent a group of five young men and women to Baffin Island, while earlier this year an entirely different team went to the Sahara, where they ran across the desert in Tunisia to raise funds and awareness to pay for several clean water projects in remote areas of the world. Each of these expeditions share a couple of common themes, including a healthy dose of adventure, a commitment to addressing a pressing global issue, and an outreach program designed to engage educators and their students.
Now, the i2P team is ramping up for their next big adventure, this time sending another group of youth ambassadors off to a far flung location in the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil. Expedition Amazon 2010 is set to begin this month, and will feature a 200km (124 mile) trek, spread out over eight days, that will drop four young men and women, along with members of the impossible2Possible organization, into one of the harshest and most demanding climates on the planet.
Like the previous i2P expeditions, this one will have a theme as well. While in Tunisia last year for instance, the focus was on water issues, while this year, it is all about biodiversity. With that topic in mind, it is difficult to think of a better place to explore the subject than the Amazon Rainforest, which is home to thousands of unique plants and animal species. The members of the team will have an opportunity to see that diversity up close and personal while trekking through the dense jungle that is teeming with life. They’ll also have the unique, and rewarding, opportunity to stop in local villages and interact with the indigenous people of the Amazon as well.
Also not surprising is that i2P has once again partnered with a number of schools to offer classrooms a unique look at an expedition as it unfolds. The team will be sending back video dispatches, photos, and journals from the field that will allow students in the classroom to feel like they are a part of the adventure. The Experiential Learning Program is an interactive two-way street as well, with the students having the opportunity to ask questions and communicate with the team, even while they are on the trek. These educational elements will give young people the chance to learn about unique cultures, the topic of biodiversity, and the amazing and important natural resource that is the Amazon Rainforest. (FYI: Educators interested in taking part in the program can click here for more information)
We’ll all be able to follow along with the team as they post updates and dispatches to their blog in the days ahead.
Having visited the Amazon myself, I can attest to what kind of adventure this will be. Trekking through the jungle is no easy task, and to cover the distances that they have in mind in the time allotted, they’ll need to average about 15 miles per day. That’s a pretty challenging hike in good wilderness conditions, which the Amazon isn’t. Throw in some heat and humidity, and this is going to be on challenging journey.
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It all sounds as remarkable as it is laudable.
And with the proliferation of "cause" expeditions, I would similarly like to fact-check the outcome of that aspect: ask to see a photocopy of the check they wrote out to the beneficiary cause. Summits reached and speed records need to be verified – if you're going to publicly claim something it's simply fair to provide some verification – so likewise, some indication of what they actually did in this department should automatically be provided. Or asked for.