RAINFOREST EXPLORER
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RAINFOREST EXPLORER
New and noteworthy updates from the Amazon Rainforest & the Morpho Institute
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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
September 24, 6:42 AM
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Indigenous territories maintain Amazon forest just as well as protected areas, study finds

Indigenous territories maintain Amazon forest just as well as protected areas, study finds | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it
A new study has found that in Ecuador’s Amazon, Indigenous territories without formal conservation contracts maintained forest conditions just as well as formal protected areas. Ecuador has three different approaches to forest governance: Forests protected by government institutions, forests managed by local communities under formal conservation agreements and Indigenous territories without formal conservation agreements. To […]
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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
October 2, 11:55 AM
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Teacher Research in the Amazon:  When a Giant Falls - Tracking New Growth in Amazon Tree Fall Gaps

Teacher Research in the Amazon:  When a Giant Falls - Tracking New Growth in Amazon Tree Fall Gaps | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it

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 - this is their Field Report!

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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
September 18, 2:19 PM
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The commodification of conservation

The commodification of conservation | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it
Brazil is betting the Amazon can be protected by making forests economically valuable - but will commercial use stay within the ecological limits?
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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
September 2, 1:46 PM
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From River to Research - an Interactive StoryMap!

From River to Research - an Interactive StoryMap! | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it

"From River to Research: Investigating Amazon Fish Biodiversity" is an interactive story map created by 2026 Alumna, Jeanne Salchli who joined the Aquatic Survey Team during the Amazon Research Initiative for Educators.  Check it out - it's amazing! 

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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
October 2, 12:47 PM
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Citizen Scientists Are Accelerating Ecology Research With iNaturalist 

Citizen Scientists Are Accelerating Ecology Research With iNaturalist  | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it

Thousands of scientific papers have used data collected by users of the platform iNaturalist, according to new research.  Have you participated?  We'd love to know more! 

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September 15, 3:45 PM
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Jupta Itoewaki: An Indigenous perspective on humanity's survival on Earth | TED Talk

Eighty percent of the world's biodiversity is within Indigenous territories, yet these communities often don't have a say when it comes to protecting the lands they inhabit. Environmental activist Jupta Itoewaki explains why Indigenous peoples are best positioned to lead the world's efforts to preserve nature and maintain a habitable planet -- and reminds us of their outsized importance in charting a sustainable future.
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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
June 30, 7:56 AM
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Don't miss the boat!  Rosters fill QUICKLY!

Don't miss the boat!  Rosters fill QUICKLY! | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it

2027 Course Enrollment Opens September 15th. Space is limited and spots fill quickly!  Sign Up for Info Night. Funding available! Learn more

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August 20, 8:05 AM
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Four decades of Research by Missouri Botanical Garden Scientists Show Impact of Climate Change on Amazon Trees

Four decades of Research by Missouri Botanical Garden Scientists Show Impact of Climate Change on Amazon Trees | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it
A unique Missouri Botanical Garden study looking at the same individual Amazon trees across decades shows effect of climate change.
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August 7, 12:10 PM
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What Is the 5 E Instructional Model?

What Is the 5 E Instructional Model? | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it
The 5 E model allows for inquiry-based learning through a unit designed in a sequence of steps: Engage, Explore, Explain, Extend, and Evaluate.
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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
July 28, 5:40 PM
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New Publication: Bird Baths in the Rainforest Canopy

This Natural History Field Note, just published in Biotropica by Dr. Jeannine Richards, includes co-authors who are K-12 science teachers from our 2025 Amazon Research Initiative for Educators (ARIE) program. Classroom teachers, publishing original field research in a peer-reviewed journal — that's a huge deal, and exactly the kind of hands-on science experience ARIE is designed to make possible. Citation: Richards, J. H., Brunner, R. M., Aliaga Pashanaste, K. G., Dumas, T., Ganong, C., Madden, D. E., Mezheritskiy, A., Trautmann, N. M., & Wolf, J. (2026). Bird Use of Arboreal Water Sources in the Peruvian Amazon. Biotropica, 58(4), e70233. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.70233

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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
March 4, 7:54 AM
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Research-Backed Strategies to Engage Students on the Environment 

Research-Backed Strategies to Engage Students on the Environment  | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it
Using photos in lessons can help kids understand challenging issues, explains a researcher.
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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
July 28, 3:36 PM
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The Amazon’s Invisible Network: How Animals and Trees Sustain the World’s Largest Rainforest

The Amazon’s Invisible Network: How Animals and Trees Sustain the World’s Largest Rainforest | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it
By mapping interactions across more than 5,000 Amazonian tree species, researchers reveal that protecting the forest also means protecting its pollinators and seed dispersers.
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July 28, 3:47 PM
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Growing Hope Through Positive Storytelling & Community Action

Many of us care deeply about the future of our planet. But sooner or later, we arrive at the same question:  What can I actually do?

Drawing on experiences from work in Panama and Colombia and years of interviewing conservationists, educators, and community leaders, Crystal reflects on how positive storytelling can help people move beyond feeling overwhelmed and begin making meaningful change in their own communities. 

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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
October 1, 8:58 PM
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Amazon Wildfires: Why They Happen and How to Stop Them

Amazon Wildfires: Why They Happen and How to Stop Them | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it
NC State experts explain what drives Amazon wildfires, their impact on forests and communities and how policies and technology aim to prevent them.
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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
September 29, 6:19 AM
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How AI helps gather remote biodiversity data: Interview with Microsoft’s Juan Lavista Ferres

How AI helps gather remote biodiversity data: Interview with Microsoft’s Juan Lavista Ferres | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it
At a meeting with conservationists a couple of years back, Juan Lavista Ferres had a eureka moment. As the director of Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab, Lavista Ferres has extensively worked on projects that use artificial intelligence technology to process and analyze biodiversity data. At that particular meeting, however, he realized that a glaring gap […]
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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
March 18, 4:12 PM
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The Amazon Rainforest is Showing Signs of Plastic Pollution in Ways We Still Don’t Fully Understand

The Amazon Rainforest is Showing Signs of Plastic Pollution in Ways We Still Don’t Fully Understand | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it
Plastic pollution is so widespread in the Amazon that it’s turning up in fish, birds, manatees, and even remote streams far from human settlements.
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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
September 2, 1:38 PM
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The Bug I Shouldn't Have Killed: An alumni Story

The Bug I Shouldn't Have Killed: An alumni Story | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it

One smashed bug. One gasp around the table. What came next became a documentary. By Morpho alumni, Josh Ault, Journalism Teacher, Spring Woods High School, Houston, TX. 

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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
September 2, 1:14 PM
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Morpho's Education for Conservation Webinars are BACK! 

Morpho's Education for Conservation Webinars are BACK!  | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it

Happy to announce that our popular webinar series is BACK!  Mark your calendars and get registered at www.morphoinstitute.org/events

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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
August 25, 2:41 PM
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Climate Change Temperatures Can Modify Tiny Structures Such as the Scales of the Dazzling Morpho Butterflies

Climate Change Temperatures Can Modify Tiny Structures Such as the Scales of the Dazzling Morpho Butterflies | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it
Hot temperatures during development can alter the scales that create Morpho butterflies’ brilliant blue iridescence, leaving adults with duller colors
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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
August 24, 9:31 AM
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Without the Amazon’s ‘flying rivers’ South America would be at risk

Without the Amazon’s ‘flying rivers’ South America would be at risk | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it
Every day, the Amazon releases billions of tons of water into the atmosphere that are carried by winds toward other regions of South America. They deliver the rains that supply forests, cities and crops far beyond the rainforest.
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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
August 14, 2:53 PM
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How the first published Indigenous ethnobotanist & elders recorded their people’s medicinal knowledge

How the first published Indigenous ethnobotanist & elders recorded their people’s medicinal knowledge | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it
In an unprecedented participatory ethnobotany approach, Hemerson Dantas dos Santos Pataxó HãHãHãi, the world’s first published Indigenous ethnobotanist, documented alongside his people their traditional medicinal practices: cataloging 175 medicinal plants, many of which had their use reaffirmed in scientific literature.
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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
August 6, 9:45 AM
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Butterflies Take Flight in Face of Climate Change and Extreme Weather

Butterflies Take Flight in Face of Climate Change and Extreme Weather | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it
In 32 of the countries included in a recent study, at least a quarter of the native butterfly species had moved to new areas.
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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
February 27, 12:10 AM
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Use These Engaging Amazon Activities to Deepen Student Learning –

Use These Engaging Amazon Activities to Deepen Student Learning – | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it
Estimated to be twice the size of India and contain 10 percent of the world’s known species, the Amazon rainforest is a critically important ecosystem — but not just to the plants and animals that call it home. The importance of this threatened ecosystem to the health of our planet is one of the reasons…
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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
January 28, 3:39 PM
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Meet our newest partner! 

Meet our newest partner!  | RAINFOREST EXPLORER | Scoop.it

We are excited to work with The Climate Initiative and share their wonderful resources and trainings with our network of educators.  TCI's ED, Leia Lowery, connected with Morpho's ED via their work on the IUCN Nature-based Education Task Force. Instant collaboration ensued!  Learn more about TCI 

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Scooped by The Morpho Institute
July 28, 3:35 PM
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2026 Reflections from the Field:  Rachael Manzer

Wondering what participants of our 2026 PD courses have to say about their field experience and our scholarship funds? Take a listen!

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