The Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research (ACEER) Foundation is joining with several partners to produce an integrated, inquiry-based learning program— Living on the Edge! Program components will include the following: a multi-part television series produced at the ACEER-Tambopata research station on the Madre de Dios river, a tributary of the Amazon in Southern Peru; a companion Web-based study program of on-demand video, audio, data, and other learning resources; and local museum exhibits to anchor the learning experiences within local communities.

An initial target audience of 14 million households is expected to participate, and there are plans to eventually distribute nationally. Living on the Edge will explore nature’s great interfaces: air/water/land/biota. A significant component will be how phytochemistry holds promise for the discovery of new medicines. The ACEER’s extensive medicinal plant gardens and trails in the rainforest will be featured, along with depictions of local plant use and ceremonies. Production will begin in 2005 and the program’s release is set for 2006-2007. 

Key organizations partnering with ACEER include WHYY-TV (PBS Channel 12), Philadelphia, PA; West Chester University of PA; Camden County College, NJ; WebStudy, Inc. of PA; the Delaware Nature Society; the Delaware Museum of Natural History; and Syncreta Associates in Gainesville, FL.

The mission of ACEER, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization, is to promote rainforest conservation by being a catalyst for awareness, understanding, action, and transformation. This is achieved through environmental education and research within Amazonian communities in partnership with industrialized nations. The project’s progress can be monitored at http://www.aceer.org/. For more information, contact Dr. Roger W. Mustalish, President, ACEER Foundation, rmustalish@wcupa.edu.