One of our goals in the Concord Consortium's Science Learning in Context™ (SLiC) project is to influence how portable technology is used in education. This past summer, while facilitating a series of workshops in which we educated teachers on the procedures for using Apple eMates with probeware in water quality and general science activities, we learned what a school in Noblesville, Indiana, was doing. They had purchased eMates and were interested in using them in a rainforest curriculum. Having recently developed curriculum for the MayaQuest expedition (see @CONCORD, Spring '97), we were fascinated by Noblesville's idea.

As a result, in July I traveled to the Peruvian rainforest near the Rio Yarapa in the Upper Amazon Basin with some educators from Noblesville who, through the Children's Environmental Trust (CET), were traveling to the rain-forest and developing a curriculum that employs the power of portable computing.

We flew into the city of Iquitos, Peru, and took a four hour boat ride up the Amazon towards the Yacumama Lodge, which is located on the Yarapa River-a tributary of the Amazon. This area has been affected by generations of interaction with people. Much of the primary old growth is gone, and faster growing secondary growth-the jungle-has taken its place. As we hiked through the jungle to find primary growth forest, which was a days hike from the lodge, I was struck by the abundance and opportunistic quality of life in the Amazon- the largest continuous rainforest in the entire world. Tropical rainforests account for less than six percent of the earth's land surface, and yet they contain over half of all life species. Having been untouched by the ice ages, the tropical rainforests are ancient ecosystems which have been developing over tens of millions of years. But they are now being destroyed at a rate of one and a half acres a second-24 hours a day-and the rate of destruction is increasing. If left unchecked it is estimated that these rainforests will be completely destroyed by sometime in the next century.

Later in the week, while torrential rains quickly moved in, Brian watched as his eMate graphed the change in temperature and relative humidity as the storm approached.

In the evening we took a hike through the rainforest and the wildlife sounds were incredible. At one point I tried to isolate the myriad sounds coming from all directions. But it was impossible. Yet even in this peaceful setting it was easy to see the effects of increased population and poor land usage. Just a few years ago there were so many fish in the Yarapa River-which at first glance gives the impression that it is too warm and stagnant to support much life-that the keeper of the Yacumama Lodge could tie a net to the dock in the morning and in the afternoon find it full of fish. However, due to over fishing because of greater demand by Iquitos fishermen, the area around the lodge and surrounding villages is now nearly depleted.

In Iquitos precious items that have been illegally removed from the rainforest sell openly in the market. Much of the hope of preserving this fragile ecosystem depends upon local villagers who possess the authority to prevent illegal activities. The Yacumama Lodge and CET are developing awareness programs in sustainable development and environmental education geared towards the villagers.

It is a goal of CET to educate young people in our country on rainforest ecology so that they act as advocates for preservation and make responsible choices as adults. With sufficient planning, technology has the potential to add significantly to students'experience in the rainforest. Like Brian's experience measuring the approaching storm with his eMate, students will be able to instantly create graphs of changing natural phenomena, and they will be able to share their data electronically, both in the rainforest and after they return home to the United States. Next year, with the help of CET, 35 Noblesville students will travel to the rainforest for one week with teachers, chaperones, and scientists to carry out rainforest studies using eMates and probes. The students are spending the current year preparing for the trip. Next year, after they have traveled to the rainforest, they will spend a year speaking to groups about their experience and may also share their experiences over the Web.

At four-thirty one morning we hiked back to the elevated platform in the rainforest and watched as the sun rose over the top of the jungle canopy. Barely a word was spoken as the dawn spread across the trees. As we watched, we felt the importance of providing the next generation with the tools and knowledge that will inspire them to preserve this magnificent and irreplaceable resource.

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