Posts Tagged ‘conservation education’
When a Giant Falls: Tracking New Growth in Amazon Tree Fall Gaps
What happens in the rainforest when a giant tree comes crashing down? Through the Amazon Research Initiative for Educators (ARIE), K-12 teachers stepped into the role of field scientists at the Amazon Conservatory of Tropical Studies
Read MoreEnrollment Opens for 2027 PD Courses
Don’t miss the boat! Enrollment opens for our 2027 PD Courses on September 15th at 12PM Eastern. Space is limited and spots fill quickly! Mark your Calendars! Learn more: Educator…
Read MoreUnderstory Surprises: Insect Richness in a Rainforest Vertical Study
What happens when you look for biodiversity on both the forest floor and in the rainforest canopy? During the Amazon Research Initiative for Educators (ARIE), educators and researchers used simple fruit-baited traps at the Amazon Conservatory of Tropical Studies (ACTS) in Peru to explore …
Read MoreFollowing the Beetles: Discovering Connections Between Plants and Insects in the Amazon
[ARIE 2025] Heliconia species are iconic in the Neotropics, but many remain surprisingly understudied in the Amazon rainforest. One of those is Heliconia juruana. Our research team studied populations in the Napo-Sucusari Biological Reserve near the ACTS Field Station, focusing on how leaf beetles from the Chrysomelidae family interact with these plants.
Read MoreLearning by Doing: Educators Build a Long-Term Orchid Bee Inventory
[ARIE 2025] This summer, teachers became researchers at the ACTS Field Station, continuing a long-term inventory of orchid bee diversity. By documenting species richness and distribution from the forest floor to the canopy, they gathered data that will support future monitoring of environmental change.
Read MoreAre Amazon forests ghosting us?
[From the Director] As we watch the rapid disappearance of forests around the world, it’s hard to ignore the growing phenomenon of “ghost forests”—areas once humming with biodiversity, now falling…
Read MoreThe Rainforest is My Teacher
So, what did I learn, and continue to learn from the Rainforest? So much more than the trees, birds, monkeys, dolphins, fish, or the things that glow in the dark.…
Read MoreWhy Morpho?
by Dr. Kelly Keena, Board President We sat in the green and white wooden Explorama boat nosed into the bank of a small tributary stream. The dense branches had a…
Read MoreThe Power of Partnerships in the Amazon
by Dr. Nancy Trautmann, founding board member of the Morpho Institute As an environmental scientist and educator, my career has centered on helping educators reach beyond lectures and textbooks to…
Read MoreTaking Flight! Children’s Love of Birds Inspires Hope for the Amazon
Taking Flight! Children’s Love of Birds Inspires Hope for the Amazon Authors: Brian Landever, Director of CONAPAC & Christa Dillabaugh, Director of the Morpho Institute What happens when you mix…
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