We are experiencing a rebirth in concern and commitment to the environment. Environmental education has been part of the science curriculum since the 1970s but today's renewal seems more pressing and vital in affecting attitudes and knowledge among our students. What is the best way to impact our students? How can we effectively increase their understanding of environmental issues over the long term? How can we ensure they will be responsible adults in regards to the environment? Experiences. Memorable experiences. Immersion experiences. Let's set aside individual lessons. Let's put away one-time environmental activities. What we need to do is connect our students with environmental issues in their community, state, nation, and world. In the summer of 2006, I was invited to go on a Global Expedition sponsored by Miami University and the Cincinnati Zoological and Botanical Gardens. This expedition involved teachers from all over the nation and was inquiry based. The expedition focused on cheetah conservation in Namibia, which is near South Africa. Namibia is home to one of the largest remaining populations of cheetahs. The population of cheetahs dropped by half in the 1980s due to the expansion and democratization of Namibia. With only 2500 cheetahs remaining, their genetic diversity was in peril, their hunting area was reduced, and conflict between farmers and cheetahs was ever present. The farmers saw the cheetahs as enemies affecting their livestock. When the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) was established in the 1990s, an effort to inform the farmers of the role of the cheetah in the ecosystem became a driving force of the CCF's activities. By building rapport with the farmers, Laurie Walker, the director and creator of CCF, slowly began to create alliances so that today, many of the commercial farmers work with CCF in protecting the cheetahs rather than killing them in this community-based ecological effort. The focus of our expedition was on cheetah conservation through relationships built between the teachers and local Namibian teens. We were introduced to the teens during a dinner at CCF that transcended into music and dancing around the campfire. The goal for the teens was to help educate them about the importance of the cheetah in their communities as well as educate the teachers about both the cheetah and life in Namibia. One of the key experiences of the expedition was a full moon watering-hole population count. Each teacher was paired with two Namibian teens. The groups were then taken to a watering hole where they spent 24 hours monitoring the animals that approached the water. A census count was taken. I teamed with two young men. We set up our base 40 feet high in a blind just big enough to hold the three of us. The counting went well while the sun was up. We saw hyenas, African bush pigs, elands, and other visitors sip the water. Between animal visits, the teens and I talked about popular culture, American music, African films, and, more than anything, the animals of the bush. These teens shared their firsthand knowledge of the animals. When night time came, the sounds of the animals under the brilliant full moon was the key tool we used to identify the animals. The teens knew the sounds. I was totally clueless. The teens taught me about the bush, the animals, their sounds, and Namibian culture. After 24 hours, we descended from the blind and headed back to CCF. I came away changed. I experienced a day and night out in the bush where there is only nature present. No blinding neon light, no car sounds, none of the noise present in much of American life. I also saw how comfortable these teens were in the wild. They knew the environment in which they lived. They knew the sounds, the textures, and the activity of the bush. I wondered as I was there, how well most American young adults could do in a 24-hour stay in the nature. Would they know what was making the sounds? Would they be at ease spending the night high in a blind overlooking pastures, fields, or watering holes in the various ecosystems of the United States? …