Welcome To Tree Trek Exploration

WHAT: Tree Trek Exploration trains adventurers, researchers and educators to move through the forest canopy at will, using the latest and safest techniques and equipment. We also offer two inexpensive public “try it” climbs each month for those who aren’t sure if this adventure is right for them. Our programs include basic and advanced climbing techniques, training for program facilitators and instructors, and our unique 4-week rainforest/cloud forest climbing adventure.

WHY: Just a few feet above our heads is one of the least understood places on earth. The forest canopy is unbelievably vast; the 2010 United Nations Forest Resources Assessment puts it at 9.8 billion acres, and the U.S. Forest Service’s global estimate is 8.5 billion acres. It is home to nearly three-fourths of all the species on our planet, including half the species discovered in the last quarter century. It is where nearly all the planet’s oxygen is made. Despite its huge size, only a handful of field researchers have ventured into this incredibly diverse and ever-changing ecosystem. Canopy cranes, hot-air balloons, elevated walkways and zip lines have helped them explore a few hundred acres of this treetop paradise that early 20th century explorer William Beebe called “the eighth continent.”

WHO: Our clients range from teenagers to 70-somethings. They include entomologists, botanists, herpetologists, biochemists, ecologists, primate researchers, birders, and everyone in nearly any filed of biological science, along with high school students and college undergraduates. We even allow kids who’re eight years old or older to take part in our three-hour public “try it” climbs.

WHERE: Our main site in North America is located on the west side of Lake Sidney Lanier, on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains and about 75 minutes north of the Atlanta International Airport. Our field station is located in a tiny rainforest village on the west end of Isla Colon (Columbus Island) near the international border between Panama and Costa Rica.

WHEN: Training in climbing and facilitation techniques is regularly scheduled at the Lake Sydney Lanier site every month except January. The Tropical Ecology Climbing Course, which includes techniques for rainforest and cloud forest canopy exploration, is regularly scheduled at the Panama site during the Christmas break and from mid-June to mid-July. Other training dates are often available by request. See our complete list of courses and dates.