This course takes students up in the forest canopy, around the marsh, and as far as the Peruvian Amazon— all in an effort to use nature as a laboratory to understand the biological world around us. With a combination of discussion, lecture, and field-based activities, students design and conduct scientific investigations to address research questions and, using the AP Research framework, develop skills in accessing, analyzing, and synthesizing information. Possible research units include canopy ecology, deer management, endangered turtle survey, and bird banding with such partners as the Cary Institute, Dutchess Land Conservancy, George Mason University, and more. Our flagship project focuses on ethnobiology in the Peruvian Amazon, where we contribute to investigations involving stingless bees, wildlife cameras, and tropical ecology. Students in this course have priority in attending a Peruvian Amazon trip over March break. Students keep field journals throughout the semester and share a final research paper at the spring science symposium. Prerequisites: general biology.