Greetings Fellow Expeditioners!

As we — and many of you — wrap up another successful season in the field, Earthwatch is already hard at work identifying important and exciting new projects and events for the coming year.

Perhaps 2008 will find you tracking wild horses on the Outer Banks, exploring the effects of volcanoes on plants and animals in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, or capturing and banding colorful birds in Wyoming’s fabulous Tetons. You can learn about these new offerings and many more on our web site.

In this issue of The Expeditioner, we bring you breaking news from the beautiful beaches of Costa Rica. Things are looking up for endangered leatherback turtles nesting there, and it’s not too late to make plans to help in this momentous conservation effort!

We also bring you news from one of our most thrilling new projects, Crocodiles of the Zambezi. Then we share the experiences of some of the luckiest teachers in the world, who were part of an international teacher fellowship program on Earthwatch projects in South and Central America. Finally, Earthwatch volunteers get to the bottom of what’s on everyone’s mind: What did Dolley Madison have for dinner?

“I spend a lot of time with some of the funniest, most hopeful and energetic people on the planet: 13 and 14 year olds….My middle school students are prisoners of an infrastructure that is not their invention. My students do not walk to school. Most of them cannot walk to school, nor can they ride bikes…Climate change demands that we transform fossil-fuel dependent infrastructures so that the next generation of Tumwater kids can get to school without driving.”

Jana Dean, Educator Fellow on Climate Change at the Arctic’s Edge, speaking at the United Nations in September — read her blog.

We got lots of great photo entries from our Expedition Photo contest, and it was a tough decision, but here's the winner:

Valerie Gibbons: This Won't Hurt a Bit

Photo © Valerie Gibbons

Valerie took this photo last year when she volunteered on Carnivores of Brazil's Grasslands.

She says:
“Our third live capture was a young ocelot (named James after one of our team members). As he had not been captured before, we had the opportunity to radio-collar, take medical statistics and measurements.”

Sound like fun? We have 7 teams going to help Dr. Silveira next year, and you could be one of them!

Many thanks to professional photographer David Barron of oxygengroup for setting up the contest website and judging the photos. David has gone on over 40 Earthwatch expeditions ; see all of his Earthwatch photos on his website.

Pacific leatherback turtles may be teetering on the brink of extinction, yet there is room for optimism among volunteers working with nesting turtles in Las Baulas National Park, Costa Rica. So far they have counted 28 nesting females, already half of the total counted last year, and the nesting season has just started. More Earthwatch volunteers are needed to keep the vital research and conservation efforts up through February.

“We counted 63 leatherback nests on the beach in October,” said Gabriella Blanco, field team leader of the Costa Rican Sea Turtles project. Many female turtles have already returned to the beach several times to nest. “We moved 12 nests to the hatchery and we are expecting the first ones to hatch at the end of November. All of the volunteers have worked hard, but most importantly we have had lots of fun and lots of turtles!”

Although leatherbacks are the widest ranging marine vertebrate in the world, their population in the Pacific has dwindled down to fewer than 3,000 reproductive females today. Females nesting on the Pacific Coast of Mexico and Central America have dropped from 91,000 in 1980 to fewer than 1,500 in recent years.

“Pacific leatherbacks currently face an annual mortality rate of up to 30 percent,” said Dr. Frank Paladino (Indiana-Purdue University) principal investigator of Costa Rican Sea Turtles. Leatherbacks face threats ranging from destructive fishing practices to the illegal gathering of turtle eggs, which some cultures regard as a delicacy. “That rate is clearly unsustainable, and without dramatic intervention we can expect to see them disappear in as soon as a decade.”

Earthwatch teams won’t let that happen without a fight. One of the most important remaining nesting areas in the Pacific Ocean is here on the three scalloped beaches of Las Baulas National Park, a park given national protection thanks to the hard work of Paladino and his colleages. For the past 17 years, Earthwatch volunteers on Costa Rican Sea Turtles have supplied nesting data to conservation officials to guide turtle management, and assisted in nesting and hatchery studies.

This November through February, spirited Earthwatch teams will take to the beaches each night to help tag and identify these massive creatures as they haul themselves out of the dark water to nest. They will record the enormous size of nesting turtles, nest locations, and numbers of eggs laid, a truly poignant and unforgettable task given the dire status of the Pacific population.

Join us on Leatherback Turtles of Costa Rica

Read about our 25+ years of sea turtle research.

Learn more about the threats to Pacific leatherback turtles

A leatherback turtle digs its nest on a Costa Rican beach. Photo © Frank Paladino.

Turtle hatchery maintained with the help of Earthwatch volunteers on Costa Rican Sea Turtles. Photo © Tom Burstow.

Earthwatch volunteers prepare bucket "nests" for leatherback turtle eggs they've collected. Photo © Tom Burstow.

By Anne Ogilvie

Ever wondered what it’s like to hang off the bow of a little boat in the dark over crocodile-infested waters? Anne Ogilvie gives this firsthand report from Crocodiles of the Zambezi.

The sun going down is the very picture of what I’d an imagined an African sunset to be like: blazing red, partially covered by hot, hazy clouds. It is lovely.

We head out around 8 p.m., after dinner and a coffee break around the fire. Audrey or Kevin takes turns driving the boat and sitting up in the bow, ready to catch the crocs we spot. One of us sits up front with the spotlight, moving it slowly back and forth, looking for riverbanks, islands in the middle, hippos, other wildlife, and especially crocs. The eyes of a crocodile reflect a bright red when the spotlight hits them. The light somewhat stuns them, and allows us to get close enough in the boat to catch them.

Carlos takes the first spotlight shift, and in less than a minute spots a croc! Audrey drives the boat over, Kevin grabs the animal out of the water, and we have our first animal to process. He is very small, only 35 centimeters or so, but feisty.

Crocodiles are cold-blooded creatures, so they are usually less active at night. This one still has lots of energy, and writhes around while we try to hold him still to take measurements. Kevin and Audrey take urine and blood samples. The croc also makes a sharp, insistent guttural sound, a distress call that is repeated by other crocodiles in the vicinity.

It’s wild to sit in the boat, in the dark, and hear his call mimicked by other crocs of unknown size in the area. Kevin slips the croc back into the river right where we picked him up. After we cruise the river for another half hour or so, it’s my turn to spotlight. I’m up at the front with Kevin, leaning on my elbows, shining the light back and forth.

We surprise a few hippos, one who was lying down on the river bank, settling in for the night. Their eyes also reflect red when the spotlight hits them. It’s a little unnerving to be at the front of the boat, waiting for my first crocodile to turn up. I ask Kevin how long it took before being out at night on the boat to feel normal. He replies, “It does take some getting used to, doesn’t it?”

When I get to hold my first croc, he’s not very big, only 40 centimeters. But he squirms so forcefully the entire time I am afraid that I will hurt him while trying to keep him still. The night is hot, and I am bundled up to keep the bugs off. This, coupled with my fear of hurting him, has sweat rolling down my forehead. My hands are totally occupied holding the croc during sampling. I even get the chance to let him go back into the dark water.

After we return to camp around 3 a.m., and process samples in the lab, we crawl into our tents. Tonight there are hippos and hyenas vocalizing all around, and lots of frogs croaking, and toads and giant beetles scuttling around in the brush outside the tent. I am snug inside, and more than ready for the sleep that awaits me.

Join Dr. Alison Leslie on Crocodiles of the Zambezi.

Sunset on the Zambezi River. Photo © S. & D. Vrdoljak.

Examining a small croc. Photo © David Barron/oxygengroup.

Returning a croc to the water. Photo © David Barron/oxygengroup.

Closeup on a croc. Photo © David Barron/oxygengroup.

Crocs are not all you'll see on this expedition! Photo © David Barron/oxygengroup.

Teachers in Los Angeles rarely have the opportunity to collaborate with nearby coworkers on the knottiest environmental questions facing humanity, let alone with international colleagues. It was therefore a huge bonus for 15 outstanding educators from the Los Angeles area to join 12 teachers from Brazil, Costa Rica, and Ecuador on Earthwatch projects last summer.

The 27 teachers were recipients of the 2007 Helen and Peter Bing Fellowships, which have benefited southern California’s best teachers for 19 years. The addition of in-country colleagues is an exciting new element this year, adding cross-cultural collaboration to the many benefits of the fellowships. Los Angeles-area participants were chosen from a competitive pool of 67 applicants, based on their interests in educational and cross-cultural networks for learning about nature and the environment. Outstanding local teachers from communities surrounding each expedition site were hand-picked by Earthwatch principal investigators and their in-country field staff.

“What a privilege to be on the expedition with local teachers,” said Eva Stamper, a high school chemistry teacher from Palos Verdes, Califronia, who joined Brazil’s Dolphins. “They helped us with the language, translating, and teaching. They let us in on the local soccer rivalries, gave us a perspective on education in the area, and shared with us the needs of the local community.”

California teachers also found that working with teachers from local communities was fertile ground for learning about global sustainability issues. Beth Katz, a 9th grade environmental science teacher in Lawndale, California, joined two other teachers from California and two Ecuadorian teachers from nearby towns on Hunting for Caterpillars in the Andes.

“We developed a ‘My Environment’ project that I am excited to implement in my classroom,” said Katz. “This interdisciplinary project will have students critically consider and evaluate their own environments and the role they play in affecting change.  They will be able to share their projects with students from Ecuador and discover cross-cultural connections of which they were not previously aware. This global awareness is essential to successes in higher education and in efforts to improve the quality of life around the world.”

Oscar Espinoza, a high school science teacher in South Los Angeles, joined Hunting for Caterpillars in La Selva along with two California teachers and two from Costa Rica. He and his students are planning an International Butterfly Peace Garden that will benefit both their school and the local community. Teachers in Costa Rica are doing the same in their own communities. Students from both countries will stay in contact via the Internet, sharing observations of caterpillars and butterflies in their respective gardens and developing nature field guides for visitors.

“There is need to bring nature back into this community,” said Espinoza. “This garden will provide the students and community members a place to observe nature and a place for reflection.”

Reaching Teachers
For more information about teacher fellowships as well as more curriculum ideas and lesson plans from teachers that have participated on Earthwatch projects, visit our website.

Real Science on CD
Teachers will also be interested in our Classroom Earth series, a collection of case studies based on Earthwatch projects that are valuable resources for the classroom.

A volunteer on Brazil's Dolphins photographs a dolphin swimming close to the beach. Photo © Marcos Santos.

Closeup of a fuzzy caterpillar found in Costa Rica. Photo © Bing fellow William Steinberg.

A page from the journal of Bing teacher fellow Diane Cordingley, © Diane Cordingley.

Group photo of the team who were Hunting for Caterpillars in La Selva. Photo © William Steinberg.

What did Dolley Madison and Marie Antoinette have in common? Perhaps a broken dessert plate recently found buried under a trash heap in Virginia’s scenic Piedmont region. The china plate was discovered in Montpelier, the historic estate of James Madison, U.S. president, father of the Constitution, and Dolley’s husband. It’s just one of the many archaeological treasures found in the trash heap, or midden, by Earthwatch teams on Restoring America’s Heritage.

“The finds we are making in the trash midden are very significant for understanding the patterns of material culture for the early American Republic,” said Matthew Reeves, director of archaeology at Montpelier Foundation and principal investigator of Restoring America’s Heritage. “The taste and style that the Madisons set during their White House years and during their retirement brought the latest in style to the American culture.” 

Elaborately painted and gilded plate discovered in the midden.

Champagne bottles, bones from prime cuts of meat, stemware, everyday china, oyster shells, and many other artifacts reveal the life and times of the sociable Madisons, in intimate detail. Given that James Madison left no memoir and few correspondences, the contents of the trash heap are an invaluable glimpse into the Madison household 200 years ago. Fragments of gilded Nast china, matching heirlooms handed down through the family, confirm that the midden was indeed used by the Madisons themselves in their retirement years. The find also indicates that their “state” china, used in Washington following the burning of the White House in 1814, was returned to Montpelier. 

One porcelain dessert plate was made by the Parisian company Sèvres, which supplied the court of Louis the XVI, King of France. The plate, dated to 1789, matches a china set that reputedly once belonged to Marie Antionette, the French queen with the infamously decadent lifestyle. James Monroe may have first bought the china when he was Minister to France in the years following Marie’s execution in the French Revolution. Monroe apparently sold the plates to James Madison in order to finance his return trip to France in 1803, as part of the delegation to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase.

This is a mighty auspicious heritage for a dessert plate found in a trash heap. However, there is still one mystery left around the Sèvres plate. Although the fragments found in Dolley’s trash heap perfectly match an heirloom piece that is displayed at Montpelier, why was the plate painted and gilded by different artists? Meanwhile, Earthwatch teams will continue to explore other mysteries as they excavate the site to reveal more important details of the Madisons’ lives.

“The two seasons that Earthwatch volunteers have spent at Montpelier have proven extremely important in the restoration and interpretation of the newly restored Montpelier mansion,” said Reeves. “From locating the front fence and carriage road, which will be restored this spring, to the latest finds in the trash midden, volunteer contributions have proven invaluable in our understanding of Madison’s vision for his home.”

The Have Nots
As significant as the items found in “Dolley’s Midden” are the items that were not found: anything suggesting the use of the trash heap by the Madisons’ slaves who resided at Montpelier. The location of the discrete trash heap used by the enslaved population is the subject of an ardent search by Montpelier archaeologists, as it would serve as a valuable comparison to the Madison’s trash deposits. Earthwatch teams in 2008 will be excavating the site of the slave quarters to determine details of their daily lives. “These quarters are fascinating as they existed right in the shadow of the main house,” said Reeves. “They need to be interpreted for what they represent of Madison’s other side…a life-long slave owner.”

Join Dr. Matthew Reeves as he continues his exploration of America's past.

Restoring Montpelier
For more information about James Madison’s Montpelier, visit the Montpelier website.

The Latest Dirt
See the principal investigator’s blog about “Dolley’s Midden” and other archaeological sites at Montpelier.

Montpelier, the Madison family estate.

This watercolor of Montpelier was painted in 181, shortly after Madison left office.

Map showing actual and possible location of buildings and other features.

Some of the discoveries from the Montpelier midden.

Bottle found in the midden.

Whole platter recovered from the midden.

Drawing of what the slave quarters might have looked like at Montpelier. Copyright Linda Boudreaux Montgomery.

All photos © Matthew Reeves.

Donating Students to Science
Do you know a high school student who is ready for an exciting adventure in field science? There is still time to nominate 16 to 18-year-olds for our Student Challenge Awards Program (SCAP). This program offers teens gifted in the arts and humanities an opportunity to spend two to three intensive weeks at a scientific research station. This experience of a lifetime is sure to expand their potential and stimulate their curiosity about science and technology. Applications are accepted until November 30.

These Teenagers Will Go Far
Earthwatch now has special expedition teams all over the world for students aged 16 and 17, from the Canadian Arctic to South Africa. These teen teams are conveniently scheduled during school vacation weeks and summer, and provide outstanding educational opportunities for teenagers interested in science. Where else can your favorite teen learn real scientific methods in the field and end the day chatting around a campfire with an eminent scientist?

Taking Emissions Out of Our Mission
Earthwatch is pleased to announce that our carbon footprint is still shrinking. As of October 2007, the carbon emissions produced by all volunteer travel to expedition rendezvous sites are offset by buying carbon credits from green energy projects. This is just the latest development in our program of responsible travel, which includes developing projects for people who wish to travel locally, educating the Earthwatch community about the effects of air travel, and of course supporting field research that contributes to climate change solutions.

Koalas Make the Big Time
Anyone that travels to southern Australia might have a chance to see koalas, those round, wooly animals with an endearing expression. But only on Earthwatch’s Koala Ecology project do you have the distinct pleasure of tracking koalas through their rugged habitat to collect data for their conservation. The project was recognized among National Geographic Traveler magazine’s “50 Tours of a Lifetime” for providing the opportunity for volunteers to “delve deep.” 

He's Good With Children
Our own Alan Fortescue, Director of Education at Earthwatch, is the chief educational consultant for the new PBS series, Meet the Greens, “that gives kids who care about the planet and the environment some ideas on how to make a difference.” Read more about the show.

Visit The Greens website.

A SCAP high school student examines a caterpillar in the field. Photo © Annie Madio.

Volunteers enjoy the blue waters off Abaco Island in the Bahamas. Photo © David Barron/oxygengroup.

Koala peers down at the Earthwatch volunteers below. Photo © Sian Edwards.

With this edition of The Expeditioner, we bid adieu to Jen Goebel, writer/editor extraordinaire, who has gone on to new challenges and a shorter commute to WGBH public television in Boston.

We hope to see you in the field with us some time soon, getting muddy in the name of science or sharing stories around a crackling fire. As always, we welcome your comments. Send your ideas, concerns, stories, recipes, etc. to Anisha Palmer.

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Looking for a little more excitement in your expedition? How about studying volcanoes with Dr. Hazel Rymer? Photo © Hazel Rymer.

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