Earth Expeditions: 2007 News<title> <link href="../styles/news.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <link href="../../style/style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> </head> <body> <div id="wrapper"> <div id="header"> <div id="logoid-sub"><a href="../index.php"><img src="../../images/logotrans.gif" alt="" border=1></a ></div> </div>  <div id="sidebar"><img src="../../images/zoo_on_top.gif" alt="" width="170" height="61" /> <ul> <li><a href="../../zoo_expeditions/plants/index.php">Plants & People</a></li> <li> <hr /> </li> <li><a href="../../zoo_expeditions/primates/index.php">Primate Behavior & Conservation</a></li> <li> <hr /> </li> <li><a href="../../zoo_expeditions/habitats/index.php">Habitats, Adaptations, & Evolution</a></li> </ul> <p><a href="../../eeupdates/subscribe.php"><img src="../../images/signup_for_eeupdates.gif" alt="Sign up for EE-updates" width="170" border="0" height="26" /></a><br /> <img src="../../images/field_in_middle.gif" alt="" width="170" height="56" /></p> <ul> <li><a href="../../field_expeditions/mongolia/index.php">Mongolia</a></li> <li> <hr /> </li> <li><a href="../../field_expeditions/trinidad/index.php">Trinidad</a></li> <li> <hr /> </li> <li><a href="../../field_expeditions/kenya/index.php">Kenya</a></li> <li> <hr /> </li> <li><a href="../../field_expeditions/thailand/index.php">Thailand</a></li> <li> <hr /> </li> <li><a href="../../field_expeditions/belize/index.php">Belize</a></li> <li> <hr /> </li> <li><a href="../../field_expeditions/namibia/index.php">Namibia</a></li> <li> <hr /> </li> <li><a href="../../field_expeditions/costa_rica/index.php">Costa Rica</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="logos"><img src="../../images/logos.gif" alt="" /></div><div id="content"><p><meta http-equiv="content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <a class="tempmenu" href="../../aboutus/index.php">About</a> <a class="tempmenu" href="../../admissions/index.php">Admissions</a> <a class="tempmenu" href="../../faculty/index.php">Faculty</a> <a class="tempmenu" href="../2008/index.php">News</a> <a class="tempmenu" href="../../faqs/index.php">FAQs</a> <a href="../../application/index.php" class="tempmenu style1 c1">Apply</a> <a class="tempmenu" href="../../EEcards/index.php?act=browse_cat">Send EE-card</a></p><p> <h2>Earth Expeditions News</h2> <h3><b>Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Cast Member to Travel to Africa for Conservation</b></h3> <p> Oxford, OH, June 17, 2007<br/> </p><p> Disney's Animal Kingdom educator Heather Heslep of Orlando, has been selected as a 2007 Earth Expeditions participant and this summer will travel to the African country of Namibia to study conservation of the cheetah and other African wildlife. <p>The Earth Expeditions program, established by Miami University's Project Dragonfly and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, recognizes outstanding educators throughout the country and provides them with research experiences at conservation hotspots around the world. (http://www.EarthExpeditions.org) </p><p>In August, Heslep will travel to Namibia with a group of U.S. educators and Miami and Zoo instructors to conduct field research projects at the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) investigating radio tracking, cheetah physiology, ecosystem management and the design of school and community programs in Namibia. While in-country, the group will also join Namibian educators to begin long-term collaborative projects linking classrooms in both countries. When Heslep and the Namibian educators return to their home institutions, their work will continue on Dragonfly's web platform, created specifically for educator collaboration. Educators on some expeditions will be joined by professionals from zoos across the United States as part of Miami and the Cincinnati Zoo¹s new collaboration, Wild Research. </p><p>The Earth Expeditions program provides graduate credit to classroom teachers and educators from zoos, museums and other informal settings through direct study experience at research sites in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. The project's mission is to build an alliance of educators with firsthand knowledge of inquiry-driven, community-based learning for the benefit of ecological communities, student achievement, and global understanding. </p><p>"We need to go beyond textbooks and engage educators and students in the real world," said Earth Expeditions Co-Director Dr. Chris Myers, director of Project Dragonfly and Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Miami University, Oxford. "We envision every educator as an ambassador who creates as well as transmits knowledge, who promotes needed dialogue at all levels of society, and who inspires their students to do the same."</p><p>"Reading about the rainforest is one thing," said Dave Jenike, Co-Director of Earth Expeditions and Vice President of Education & Facilities at the Cincinnati Zoo. "But it can be transformational for students to hear about the rainforest from their own teacher who's experienced it firsthand. Through Earth Expeditions, teachers become the conduit for their students to engage more deeply in their studies, for their schools to become centers of investigation, and for all to advance a powerful conservation ethic to help preserve our natural world." </p><p>All Earth Expeditions participants earn tuition-free graduate credit from Miami University. The Earth Expeditions program is supported by funding from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. </p><p>Editor's note: For additional information at Miami about Earth Expeditions, please refer to the contact information above. For information at the Zoo about Earth Expeditions, please contact Chad Yelton at (513) 559-7744; chad.yelton@cincinnatizoo.org. </p><p><strong>Source:</strong> http://www.wdwpublicaffairs.com/contentDrillDown.Aspx?DisplayItem=6bcc53c7-f43d-48d0-8049-ccdccb2775fe <p> <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p></div>  <div id="footer"> <p><a href="mailto:Put-Your-Friend's-Email-Address-Here?subject=Earth%20Expeditions&body=I%20thought%20you%20might%20like%20to%20hear%20about%20http://earthexpeditions.org!">Email a friend about Earth Expeditions!</a></p> <p><script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[  //]]> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script></p> <p>© 2008 <a href="../../Library/index.php">Earth Expeditions</a> | <a href="http://www.miami.muohio.edu/documents_and_policies/privacy_statement/">Privacy Statement</a></p> </div>  <script type="text/javascript" defer="defer" src="http://server1.opentracker.net/?site=www.earthexpeditions.org"> </script>  <script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ _uacct = "UA-2370472-3"; urchinTracker(); //]]> </script></body> </html>