York Town News
The journey of a lifetime
Six York High School students depart for Brazil as Expedition Pantanal gets underway on April 13
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK - After about a year of planning and months of fundraising and studying, the day has finally arrived for six York High School students who are taking their learning out of the classroom and into the field.Actually, they are taking their desire to learn into the rainforest. This Thursday, April 13, Chris Mace, Chris Marshall, Michelle Carson, Meagan Gavin, Abby Boone and Nate Green will board a plane for Brazil's Pantanal - the largest wetland in the world.
Although this is not a school sponsored event, it is led by York Middle School science teacher Jeff Wilford, who visited the Pantanal in 2004 and used the wonders of the Internet and other technology to keep in touch with his seventh-grade students and share his experiences and discoveries.
This year, Wilford explained, he will take the project one step further by bringing six students with him.
As Abby Boone, one of the six student team members summed it up, "I am very excited to be leaving for Brazil Thursday. Our group has worked hard all year doing fundraisers and now we finally get to go."
Meanwhile, Wilford said, "Our seventh graders have been busy learning about the Pantanal and creating projects on the ecology of the region. Many are using their laptops to create iMovies and Appleworks slide presentations."
At the same time, his Expedition Pantanal Research Team of York High School students has been visiting the seventh-grade classrooms to see what their younger counterparts are doing.
"I think this is one of the best parts of the project. These strong connections between the high school students and the middle school students have really been great to see," Wilford said. "The seventh graders see them as role models and many of them have said that they wish they could be traveling to Brazil to work on the project. My hope is that the science we show them being performed by the student research team in Brazil will inspire them to continue with science in the future."
Once they arrive at their destination, Wilford said this team of students will work with scientists in the region who are working to understand and protect the ecosystems of the Pantanal.
The team members described their feelings in the days before their journey begins.
"I first found out about this project last summer when Jeff Wilford approached me and asked if I would be interested in being a candidate for the trip," said York High School senior Chris Marshall. "I immediately said that I would be and asked him to send me some details. Jeff contacted me in mid-July 2005 to tell me that I would be going to Brazil in April 2006 with five other seniors from my class. We had our first formal meeting in late August and have had biweekly meetings ever since."
Marshall and his fellow team members said this was an opportunity they felt they could not pass up.
"I know that on this trip I will learn extremely valuable life lessons and at the same time get a new prospective on how people live in other countries," he said. "I think as Americans we can all use a little bit of perspective to help us value and appreciate what we have."
His classmate Chris Mace agreed.
"I have always wanted to experience a jungle environment ever since studying science in middle school," he said. "When Jeff presented me with the opportunity I felt that this would not only be a great chance to experience another culture but that I would be able to be part of science in action."
Looking toward the expedition itself, Michelle Carson said it is difficult to imagine what it will be like.
"I am hoping to learn more about Brazil in terms of the people and their customs. We are going to be visiting two schools and I'm excited to see and talk to kids who live in Brazil," she said. "I also hope that I'll be able to learn more about the Pantanal and that I can help make the people here in York more aware of why it is so important."
Boone said it was her interest in science that made the expedition compelling to her.
"By going down to the most biodiverse place in the western hemisphere I would like to gain a broader perspective of all the life there is in this world. I have always been somewhat sheltered living in York for my whole life, and I feel this trip will open my eyes to a whole new world and culture," she said. "It's also nice to know you are part of an effort to help save and preserve one of the world's ecological treasures."
Meagan Gavin said she is looking forward to the chance to experience Brazilian culture.
"Fortunately, during our stay in the Pantanal we will be in contact with many local people and that is most exciting to me," she said. "We are even planning on visiting a couple of schools. It will be interesting to see a way of life that I'm pretty unfamiliar with and experience the challenges that the Pantanal is facing."
The students also said they have much to be thankful for from their families and the community itself.
"We all new right from the beginning that this was going to be an expensive learning experience," Mace said, explaining the cost for the trip is about $3,400. "We began by looking for sponsors to contribute to the trip, we held a bike raffle and a calendar raffle, and just last week three local bands put on a benefit concert for us."
Without the support from the town, the students said it would have been very difficult to achieve their goal.
"We started raising money with a calendar raffle for the month of November. Each of the students went out to local businesses and asked for donations to be on each of the days of the month," Marshall said. "This went very well and I would like to extend my thanks again to those who helped us. This was one of our larger fundraisers."
Marshall said the community as well as businesses and individuals like Scott Berger of Berger's Bike Shop deserve a lot of thanks.
"Scott has helped us a lot throughout our progress in preparing for the trip," Marshall said." Most recently he has given the students 50 percent off on some of the backpacks that are essential to our trip. The fund raising has made this trip possible to us and we are sincerely grateful to all of the community members who contributed."
Carson agreed.
"This was the first time that I was involved in raising a large amount of money that went towards something that I was truly interested in. It was the first time I really had to learn how to brainstorm and be willing to try ideas that may or may not be successful," Carson said. "It was a great experience, and I learned that it's possible to accomplish anything as long as you're willing to work hard for it. As for thanking people, I would definitely say thank you to anyone who has contributed their time or anyone who has simply followed along with our progress."
Boone said she would like to thank all those in town who took part in the fundraisers and supported the group's efforts.
"I am so appreciative for the people that helped give me the opportunity to be a part of this expedition," she said.
Gavin described the support of local businesses and York Hospital to the success of the fundraising effort.
"The entire community has been really generous and made the trip a lot more affordable for all six of us," she said.
Wilford said the next step will be an all-night flight to Campo Grande where the team is set to arrive at 9:30 a.m., check in to a hotel and go directly to visit a public school in the city.
"After we fly out of the Pantanal we will visit the distance learning lab at Uniderp, a university in Brazil that maintains the research facility we will be working in while in the Pantanal," he added.
Before leaving, Wilford said the team has been collecting supplies for Alexine Keuroghlian, the researcher they will work with in the Pantanal. Those items include a cooler and radio collars for the animals the team will be tracking.
And, he added, Keuroghlian "had a special request for marshmallows and peanut butter, two things that her children, Sean and Clara, can't get in the Pantanal."
The fun factor is key for the York High School team as well.
As Marshall put it, "on this trip I know that the six of us are going to have a lot of fun. I am truly looking forward to this and cannot wait until Thursday when we leave. This will be a great trip and I am thankful to all involved for giving me this opportunity."
Carson had a similar perspective.
"It's hard to have hopes for a trip that has already met any expectations for a trip that you have ever had. This trip has already promised adventure, new cultural experience, and plenty of time in the sun," she said. "One can't really ask for anything more."
Wilford said he and his team have been working on two "live connects" from Brazil to York - one scheduled for the York Public Library on April 21 from 7 to 9 p.m. and one for students and staff at York Middle School on April 24.
"We will have music from the Pantanal, some teaching posters created by students, a slide presentation from the site, materials about the Pantanal and refreshments," Wilford said of the library's event. U.S. Congressman Tom Allen will also attend.
The event is free and open to the public.
The team will also stay in touch via the Internet regularly through its Web site at www.expeditionpantanal.org where visitors can follow the project through the "Live from the Field" page.
For Wilford and his students, the chance to connect with their families, friends and neighbors back home is an important part of the expedition.
As Mace put it, "I'm really looking forward to being able to share our experience with other students and the people of York."
