The Xpedition’s first initiative is to raise public awareness about one of our generation’s most serious issues, climate change. The goal of this initiative is to educate the youth of Louisville about the effects of human actions upon the global climate, empower individual choices and support grassroots efforts that lead to community reform.

 

Through a student developed interactive website students will witness the impacts of global warming on our planet specifically the glaciers on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain. The Xpedition will put a face on a complex and sometimes seemingly remote issue and illuminate the connections between changes on the far side of the world and changes we may come to experience in our own backyards. Students and Educators will share eyewitness accounts of the unique ecological community of Kilimanjaro and come to appreciate the interconnected world in which we live.

At the heart of this web-based initiative, xpeditiononline.com will provide current, credible, balanced and easily understandable information, educational activities and community forums focused on the crucial issue of global climate change. But more significantly, it will offer thought-provoking interaction and practical solutions for young people. The Kilimanjaro Xpedition and public speaking events will attract media attention and generate traffic to the Xpedition website. The dynamic, interactive nature of the website will keep people returning long after the expedition finishes.

The Xpedition Web Site will feature:

• Technology that will bring the Xpedition into homes and classrooms around the world with video, images, sounds and journal entries from the Kilimanjaro expedition.

• Latest News and Events about global warming, renewable energy and related topics updated daily.

• An Online Bulletin Board with posts from high school students who will produce their own monthly on-line global warming-focused magazine including current events, fieldwork and class projects, student activism, and responses to the Xpedition. Other schools from across the community are invited to submit content for the Bulletin Board.

• Educational Activities and Lesson-Plans freely available to any educator, parent or community leader with integrated online collaboration and networking.

• Several Resource Pages. These pages provide an opportunity for young people to gain background knowledge on Global Warming and find resources for slowing its impact. The Resource Pages will also include an extensive look at the locations the Xpedition will visit in Africa as well as an in depth look at one of the most ecologically diverse regions on our planet, Mt. Kilimanjaro.

• Highlights of other Educational Expeditions and activities undertaken by schools, clubs and individuals, with an emphasis on global ecological issues and discovery learning will be spotlighted.

• The Xpedition will tell the stories of the shrinking glaciers of Mt. Kilimanjaro located near the equator in Africa. This connection will help young people understand the implications of global warming in a fundamentally different way than classroom study alone. The Xpedition will put a face on a complex and sometimes seemingly remote issue. Students and Educators will share eyewitness accounts of the unique ecological community of Kilimanjaro and come to appreciate the interconnected world in which we live.

 

Are you curious about global warming?

Do you want to know what causes it, what it could mean for our region of the world and what you can do to slow it?

Do you want to know how to talk to others about global warming?

School Visits from Xpedition Outreach Educators. The Xpedition Education program is extending their interactive web-based curriculum into your classroom. An Expedition Outreach Educator and several Student Team Members will bring global warming lesson plans right to your 6-12 school. Please contact us at otoolemike@saintxfac.com if you are interested.

Program Description: Classroom Presentation: An Expedition Outreach Educator and several Student Team members will present to your classroom or grade level. Presentation includes information on the Science of Global Warming as well as background and updates from the 2008 Kilimanjaro expedition.

Teacher Presentation: An Xpedition Outreach Educator will meet with teachers interested in participating in the Xpedition curriculum or who are looking for additional curriculum support. Teachers will receive information on the curriculum, global warming basics, integrating the Xpedition website into the classroom, and student projects.

School visits may include one or both types of presentations. Presentation length is @45 minutes.