Following in the footsteps of successful expeditions to Baffin Island and the Sahara Desert, four Youth Ambassadors will be joining an i2P expedition team as they trek through the Amazon Basin in October 2010. Using internet technology the i2P team will communicate live from the Amazon to participating students and teachers around the world. Complementing this live communication will be a rich i2P education resource complete with education modules, blogs, topical questions and class exercises. 2010 has been declared the International Year of Biodiversity. In order to highlight the year, i2P has designed an expedition to focus on Biodiversity and the importance of the many millions of distinct life forms found on Earth today.
The deadline for Amazon Youth Ambassador applications has passed. The i2P selection committee is in the process of making the difficult decision of choosing the four Youth Ambassadors. The announcement will be made very soon!
The Amazon Rainforest, nestled in the South American interior, is a microcosm of the challenging balancing act being played out worldwide between humankind and nature. An area of unparalleled biodiversity, the Amazon is home to one in ten of the known species on Earth. It is also home to the largest river in the world, relied upon as a hub of economic activity for the inhabitants of the region.
The i2P Team, including four Youth Ambassadors, will venture through the Amazon Basin for the third stage of the i2P World Expedition Series, trekking and canoeing for 8 days through lush jungle for nearly 200 kilometers. The team will endure harsh elevation changes and precarious stream crossings during this journey through one of the most mysterious places on the planet.
The Youth Ambassadors will spearhead a "pilot project" for the i2P Experiential Learning Program - teaming with schools to complete research projects tailored specifically for the region the team is traveling.
i2P Running Tunisia 2010
This second stage of the i2P World Expedition Series was on the same platform as the 2009 Baffin Island Youth Expedition, but in a dramatically contrasting locale - the northern Sahara Desert in Tunisia. On the heels of the Siberian Express for Water Expedition, in April 2010, four Youth Ambassadors were selected to join Ray Zahab, along with fellow i2P ambassadors and adventurers, in this homage to 'Running the Sahara'. Youth ambassadors ran for 7 days - and a total of 260+ kms - through searing heat, salt pans and sand dunes in a quest to cross a section of the Sahara, while pushing their own physical and mental limitations. Over 8,500 students followed their journey and participated in a live interactive website that was a two-way street of communication, and participated in fundraising efforts for 2 water projects in Africa.
i2P Founder Ray Zahab and i2P Ambassador Kevin Vallely teamed up for another epic impossible2Possible expedition. The two adventurers travelled to the far reaches of frozen Siberia and the remote shores of Lake Baikal, the oldest, deepest lake in the world, to run some 650km unsupported down the length of its frozen surface. The team averaged approximately 50km per day on this grueling expedition, while hauling all of their food and supplies. Over 8,500 students took part in both the Experiential Learning program and fundraising initiative for water projects in Africa.
