After breakfast, we took the whole group back up again for a group photo and our last official visit to the treetops. Unfortunately, there were day trippers and we had to share the magic. There are 4 lodges in the Explorama system and range in the amenities. The one we're at now is the most rustic with no wifi, limited electricity, no hot water and outdoor bathrooms/showers. Ceiba Tops (the promise land) is our final destination and where anyone In their right mind stays when they visit the Jungle. Travelers take a short boat ride to the canopy, walk around for an hour, and then return to their Piña Coladas and thatched roof cabanas with the occasional blue butterfly siting, claiming to have stayed in the rainforest. Now, I do love an umbrella in my frozen drink, but I love even more that we can say we truly experienced the Jungle. (And don't worry parents, there weren't any mini umbrellas this trip.) From ACTS lodge, we hike through the mud and snakes to get to the Canopy walkway, visit it whenever we please and finish with a cold shower and 10 new mosquito bites. It was awesome for my students to see the clean showered day trippers in their Patagonia apparel to appreciate the realness of this trip - and see the difference between tourism and immersion for their future expeditions.
Besides one upping the day trippers, today my students had a chance to do some real science! They observed a small area of the rainforest floor and canopy, and came up with research questions that would blow the College Board out of the Amazon River! I was so proud to see the little hamster running as they transformed into questioning members of the scientific community. We came back and watched Randy dig up a Bullet Ant colony - it was awesome! Randy had them on the edge of their boots to see an inch long Queen Ant🐜 with all of her minions around her. Turns out, Science is cool - especially when it's done on Platform 6 at 118 feet in the air or 2 feet underground in between two predatory ant colonies!
After lunch, the students chose to go bug hunting with Randy, explore the Canopy with me or set up climate collection systems with Steve. Three went with Steve and had the opportunity of an academic lifetime! Rachel, Maya and Angel Carrillo helped build the data collection devices and hang them from the treetops. Rachel, our little engineer, came up with an alternative design they're field testing and all three will be mentioned in Steve's research paper when he publishes. These three spent 6 hours on the canopy with Steve and came back sweaty, smelly and smiling from ear to ear! Published rainforest researchers in high school - pinch me please (unless you're a predatory Katydid) - this has to be a dream!💫
With Randy's help after dinner, we set out to conquer some fears! Randy and Steve have been collecting organisms for their own personal insect petting zoo. We pulled out the big guns first - a Tarantula! Many students jumped at the chance to hold Charlotte - but a handful needed a little bit of poking. Randy held Lauren's hand as she picked up the spider, talked Alondra up from "kill it" to "I'm not done holding it," convinced Sarah and Angel Chavez to pick one up in the wild and put a huge smile on Justice's face! He is amazingly patient and loves teaching people to love Arthropods as much as he does (or at least enough to think twice before inducing death by salon product drowning). Being afraid of something is so limiting, now, when it comes to creepy crawlers, these students are limited no more! We ended with a night hike that could have been a sequel to A Bug's Life, not even exaggerating here!🐛
At the top of the Canopy or hunting bugs with Randy, one by one, the kids are realizing that "in the rainforest, anything is possible!"💪🏻🌴 (Thanks for the inspiration, Percy!) Hopefully that idea boards the plane with us back to Phoenix in 2 days.
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