(spoken)”Ah, the equatorial region.”

CHORUS
It’s the green belt on this blue ball
where it’s always warm, warm, warm, warm.
It’s where most life has evolved
and ice so rarely forms.

Long ago, the land mass separated
into the continents we know today.
That’s when the Andes elevated,
and all the rivers flowed the same way.

CHORUS

That’s how the basin of the Amazon came to be.
For 40 million years, it’s been wet.
Through the ice ages, there were islands of trees.
Those islands haven’t been dry yet.

CHORUS

And now all around the islands of the tropics,
so many kinds of corals grow
into the mighty reefs where so many fish mix.
It's a many species multicolored show.

CHORUS

CHORUS

Bio-Bio-Biodiversity,
all life living in this community.
Bio-Bio-Biodiversity,
all around and inside you and me.
Bio-Bio-Biodiversity,
spaces, species, and the family tree.
Bio-Bio-Biodiversity,
so important to the world community.

I want, I want, I want
whales in the oceans.
I want rhinos living free.
I want old forests growing.
I want Biodiversity.

We need rain forest medicine.
We need coral in the sea.
We need flower pollination.
We need Biodiversity.

Right Now!

It’s a big world we discover,
when we go out every day.
All the life forms live together,
interacting many ways.

The bees need flowers. The flowers need bees.
That’s pollinating power! fruit around seeds.

CHORUS

It’s a forest we discover,
when we’re there among the trees.
All the beetles and the mushrooms
and the worms under the leaves.

In the oceans,
fish swim and feed
amongst the coral
habitat they need.

CHORUS

In shallow waters of warm seas,
corals live, each as big as a pea.
Secreting limestone, round bodies so soft,
attached to older corals, please don’t break off.
Inside their bodies they let algae live,
getting food for the protection they give.
Extended tentacles sting like harpoons,
eating passing plankton, by the light of the moon,
light of the moon, light of the moon.

What makes coral yellow, green, or red?
Without what would the coral be dead?
ZOO-XAN-THELLAE, ZOOXANTHELLAE.

Amongst the coral, so many things hide
lobsters, crabs, snails, fish and octopi.
They carefully search for their next meal
avoiding the sharks, barracudas, and eels.
Each creature must find food or die.
So they look around and their predators try
to catch them unaware, unprotected, exposed.
On the coral reef that’s how life and death go.
That’s how it goes. That’s how it goes.

What lives within coral in symbiosis?
What provides food in daily doses?
ZOO-XAN-THELLAE, ZOOXANTHELLAE.

Creatures go to the coral reef.
Creatures grow on the coral reef.
Creatures show coral’s alive.
Creatures go to the coral reef.
Creatures grow on the coral reef.
Creatures show coral’s alive.

Oh it’s the chorus,
the Rain Forest Chorus,
singing everywhere.

Frog croaks from his pool in the tree,
advertising his own availability.
He sings for a mate,
if he’s big or small,
with a big bassy croak
or a much higher call!
he’s singing

With a snake or an eagle, or a jaguar, too,
a sharp-eyed monkey knows just what to do.
She calls out to her family, her warning cry.
She’s caught those cagey hunters
with her sharp monkey’s eye.

CHORUS
Oh it’s the chorus,
the Rain Forest Chorus,
singing everywhere.
Oh it’s the chorus,
the Rain Forest Chorus,
voices in the air.
Everywhere,
on land, in the air,
and filling every tree.
Oh, it’s the chorus,
the Rain Forest Chorus,
singing constantly.

Water moving up those great big trees!
Water escaping from those great big leaves!
And the sun and heat will make it rise,
as it condenses in those cool blue skies.
then it rain, rain, rain, rain, rains.
Oh yes is rain, rain, rain, rains.

All the birds sing right before dawn,
claiming territory clear and strong.
Too light for the owl. Too dark for the hawk.
So the other birds feel safe to sing and squawk.
They’re singing.

CHORUS

In the forest of rain,
there’s a tree with the name
same as it’s fruit, Brazil nut.
Fifteen or more
of those nuts are stored
inside a really tough husk.
Like cannonballs,
the husks will fall,
but no one calls “look out.”
On the ground they will stay,
because there is no way
critters can get those nuts out.

CHORUS
So goes the story of Brazil nut trees,
and how they survive with the agouti.
Brazil nuts are buried by agoutis.
If nuts are forgotten, they sprout into trees.

To get the job done, here is just one?
the rodent we call agouti.
With teeth they can trust,
they can gnaw through the husk
to get to the nuts, agouti.
When they get in the pod,
they eat like a slob.
But there’s always too many Brazil nuts.
So, they’ll bury the rest
and get on with their quest,
staying alive, agouti.

CHORUS

The tapir will come
looking for some
of the nuts the agouti has buried.
But tapirs know
the jaguar could show,
so the tapir stays wary.
Insects find what’s left behind
and eat the remains in a hurry.
From flower to seed, to each critter’s needs,
that’s the Brazil nut story.

CHORUS

watch them sprout into trees...

Brazil nut....LOOK OUT!

On the limbs of trees,
on the trunk at every height,
in the canopy,
grow the epiphytes.
Roots hanging in the air,
leaves competing for the sun,
flowers blooming everywhere,
critters pollinate each one.

CHORUS
Nutrients supplied
by the dust blown on the wind.
Water rolling off of the bark,
epiphytes will soak it in.
Sprouting in the notches
of the limbs both long and short,
epiphytes use the tree only for support,
epiphytes use the tree only for support.

Epiphytes are plants,
growing in the trees
collecting pools of water,
for whole communities.
Birds, and butterflies,
spiders, frogs, and snakes
use the habitat epiphytes can make.

CHORUS

Squads of arthropods,
beautiful and odd,
everywhere we trod.
Squads of arthropods
on leaves and in dead logs.
Squads of arthropods,
food for birds and frogs.
Squads of arthropods.

Crustaceans, arachnids,
and all the insects too,
crawl and fly, multiply.
Name one after you and you
and you and you and you.

CHORUS

Pollinate, propagate,
many kinds of plants
decompose, giving those
plants more nutrients.
Pollinate, propagate,
many kinds of plants
decompose, giving those
plants more nutrients.

CHORUS

Millions of species,
most unknown and undiscovered,
in the canopy, on the ground undercover.
Beetles and termites,
spiders, ants, and scorpions,
active both day and night
all have exoskeletons.

Arthropods alive,
make the forest thrive.

CHORUS
Out in every ocean, alive in every sea,
the turtles are a-swimming, so slow and gracefully.

Here we all stand, looking out from the shore
waiting for ARRIBADA.
Everyone’s hoping, it will be like before
and there’ll be more ARRIBADA.

Break from the surf, crawl to the dunes,
Kemp’s Ridleys returning.
Back where they hatched, laden with eggs.
Soon there’ll be new turtles learning.

Dig out that hole, lay in the brood
on the beach of Rancho Nuevo.
Cover the clutch, turn back to the waves.
Will you return? We hope so.

CHORUS

Claw out of the eggs, dig up through the sand
with your brothers and sisters struggling too.
When the dawn comes, you’ll all crawl towards the sun
where the water and gulls await you.

And if you make the sea, it’s a hundred to one
against your very survival.
But back on the shore, we’re all working for
Kemp’s Ridleys revival.

CHORUS

Now, plants will grow in it; farmers make rows in it;
ants go high and low in it.
Minerals store in it; beetles will bore in it;
worms make more of it.

Put your fingers in it, and move them all around.

The pigs will wallow in it; worms will swallow in it;
snakes will follow in it.
Farmers till with it; termites build with it;
forests are filled with it.

Put your toes right in it, and move them all around.

Soil, topsoil, in it so many things thrive.
Soil, topsoil, if it’s healthy, aw, it’s alive.
Soil lives. Soil gives.
Soil is what life’s built on.
Big winds blows. Rainwater flows.
Erosion shows when the soil’s gone.
To build it back takes too long.

Well, Spring tails spring on it; little birds sing on it;
kids flop and fling on it. Healthy soil.
Moles make tunnels in it; spiders make funnels in it;
roots make bundles in it. Healthy soil.

Put your face right in it, move it all around.
(Don't stick your tounge out though)

Prairie dogs hop on it; marmots stop on it;
eagles drop on it. Healthy soil.
Roots have hair in it; people put care in it;
everybody shares in it. Healthy soil.

Put your bottom in it, and move it all around.

CHORUS

Big and white and wild and free
Polar bears in the Bering Sea
on the ice they carefully
wait for their next meal
watch the water for a seal
when the seal comes up for air
all it sees is snow
but not the bear there

in Africa a Rhino roams
the great Savannah is its home
big and strong but not alone
birds ride on his back
eating ticks for a snack
birds will peck and birds will bite
free the rhino from the parasites

CHORUS
that one bigger than that one, species,
that one has longer hair, species
that one has spots that one has stripes
that one flies through the air, species
species species of animals,
species of plants
species that blossom,
species that dance
come on and dance

insects here, insects there
in the water land and air
absolutely everywhere
they will lay their eggs
moving round on their six legs
help the flowers make our food
eating dead stuff
getting caught and chewed

biggest mammals in the seas
biggest critters in history
the great blue whale just wants to be
right where the krill are
that’s the blue whale salad bar
krill are small but smaller still
are the plankton eaten by the krill

CHORUS

Out in the desert, scorpion hides.
The sun’s pounding down. Yes, it’s hot and dry.
When the sun sets, he’ll go looking for food.
He might get lucky, but he might get chewed.

CHORUS
Ecosystem, what is the temperature?
Ecosystem, is it dry or is it wet?
Ecosystem, what are the soils?
Ecosystem, how much sun does it get?

Out in the forest, lightning strikes;
knocks a big tree down. That’s what mushrooms like.
They’re gonna sprout from that big ol’ trunk.
Getting nutrients from wood, while they’re eaten by a skunk.

CHORUS

Now if you’re gonna go ahead and try to list ’em,
there are many kinds of ecosystems.
So much to learn; so much to understand
about freshwater, brackish, marine, and land.

CHORUS

Deep in the ocean, where light can’t reach,
a whale is heading to the surface.
Yeah, she’s gonna breach.
She dives back down like she just did,
hoping to eat some more giant squid.

CHORUS

Oh, the sun is shining, through the haze.
The boat is trawling, through the bay.
The gulls are flying; the net ascends.
Upon the catch, the people depend.

Ah, you got your baked clams and your sushi.
and your fish and chips.
Boiled lobster, and your crab legs,
Yes, seafood on your lips.
And big boats with their big nets
catch fish out on the loose.
Everywhere, they catch them faster
than fish reproduce.

CHORUS
This is the water planet.
You want oceans? This is it.
Life is living in every sea.
and it ends up in you and me.

Oh, the Sun is shining, through the haze.
The plankton’s gliding. The krill graze.
Bubbles rising, the whale ascends.
Upon the krill, the whale depends.

The cod are gone on Cape Cod,
and Newfy’s banks are bare.
No King crab left on Kodiak.
We’ve taken what was there.
But we can choose those places
where the fish can safely breed.
So our great great grandchildren
can catch the fish they need.

CHORUS

For every pound of shrimp! BYCATCH,
there’s many pounds more! BYCATCH,
of once living things! BYCATCH,
that will swim the sea no more! BYCATCH.
Dolphins every day! BYCATCH;
and the turtles of the sea! BYCATCH,
they’re just thrown away! BYCATCH,
and we lose diversity! BYCATCH.

The salmon’s jumping
to its birth place.
Small fish darting; the bluefish chase.
The whale, it breeches.
The dolphin plays.
The shark, it circles the manta ray.

Ah, You got your baked clams and your sushi.
and your fish and chips.
Boiled lobsters, and your crab legs,
Yes, seafood on your lips.
but we can choose those places where fish can safely breed.
So our great great grandchildren can catch the fish they need.

CHORUS

Mrs. Mosquito she s been fIying all day
looking for blood for the eggs she will lay,
Eggs she will lay. she’s hungry all day,
eggs she will lay. What do mosquitoes say ?

She spots the nose of an otter
and then zeros in,
but a fish catches her
as the otter eats him.

Oh, where the tall grass bends and the swamp trees stand,
it’s the food and the shelter of the wild wetlands,
the wild wetlands, the wild wetlands, the wild wetlands.

There sits an owl. He’s been sleeping all day.
He waits for the night then he hunts his prey
He hunts his prey, hunts the night away,
hunts his prey. What does the owl say ?

With thick wide wings, he silently flies,
looking through darkness with powerful eyes.

To where the tall grass bends and the swamp trees stand,
it’s the food and the shelter of the wild wetlands,
the wild wetlands, the wild wetlands, the wild wetlands.

Here come the ducks. They’ve been flying all day.
They’re tired and looking for a place to stay.
A place to stay, a place to hide away,
a place to stay. What do the ducks say ?

The flock spots water and circles around
cupping their wings, they let the earth pull them down.

To where the tall grass bends and the swamp trees stand,
it’s the food and the shelter of the wild wetlands,
the wild wetlands, the wild wetlands, the wild wetlands.

Mud and dead things washing down the river,
settling on the bottom of the bay.
Decomposers eat those dead things
releasing their minerals every day.

Phytoplankton, little plants floating
using those nutrients while soaking up the sun.
Zooplankton are the little critters
that drift with the phytos while eating some.

CHORUS
It’s where the ocean feeds
on what the river carries.
It’s where the fresh and salt water mix
with the leaves, the mud, and the sticks.
It’s a soup of life, and it’s thick!
Whoa, it’s the estuary!

Oyster beds and underwater grass
give food and shelter to many living things.
Clams and snails and little fish hiding
from the appetites the big fish bring.

Rock and blue fish chase anchovies.
Great blue heron stalk the water’s edge.
Eagles and osprey fishing and flying
as the gulls circle overhead.

CHORUS

Ou lie, lie, lie, oh, lie, lie, lie,
Ou lie, lie, lie, oh, lie, lie, lie,
CHORUS
Barnacles, barnacles, where are you?
Stuck on stuff with my barnacle glue!
Barnacles, barnacles, where are you?
On the rocks and the whales
and the big ships too!

Adrift in the ocean, an egg floating free,
when I hatch I’m almost too small to see.
I look like an insect, then a shrimp. It’s strange!
How much in my life my body will change!

Ou lie, lie, lie, oh, lie, lie, lie,
Ou lie, lie, lie, oh, lie, lie, lie,

CHORUS

I stick my head to whatever’s found.
Secrete my glue to hold myself down.
I grow a shell, which can open and close.
Grab food with my legs and my hairy toes!

Ou lie, lie, lie, oh, lie, lie, lie,
Ou lie, lie, lie, oh, lie, lie, lie,

Barnacles, barnacles, where are you?
with Barnacle Bill the sailor...

Well, everybody’s heard about the dinosaurs,
and everybody knows they’re not here anymore.
Something big happened,
and now they’re gone.
It was a massive extinction.
Once again it’s going on.

Yeah, people need homes, food, and clothes.
We use natural resources to get all of those.
But nature won’t last if
we keep doing what’s been done.
There’ll be nothing left for the children yet to come.

CHORUS
Woo,Woo,Woo,Woo, Emerge and See.
We’re losing our world’s biodiversity.
It’s up to you. It’s up to me
to change this crazy human activity.
Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo

For as long as we’ve been here,
there’ve been fish in the sea
migrating up the rivers seasonally.
With hooks, nets, and spears,
we’ve caught what we could.
Because smoked, grilled, or broiled,
fresh fish tastes good.

But there are dams in the rivers
and sewage too,
coming from pigs, chickens, cows,
me and you.
Huge boats with huge nets
catch all in their wake.
There are places in the ocean
where there’s nothing left to take.

CHORUS

Now, there are places where
good things happen every day.
Where people do the right things
when they work and play.
They protect the water, soil, and air,
so the forest and fish will always be there.

But there are too many places
where this is not true.
Watch what you buy
and watch what you do.
Conserve energy, and make sure that
whatever you buy doesn’t hurt habitats.

CHORUS