When one door closes, another opens, and for Isaiah Gilson, that other door opened into the Amazon in October through the Impossible2Possible program.

While Gilson wasn't selected for the sports scholarship he had applied for in Denmark earlier this year, he soon learned of the Impossible2Possible trek.

"I really didn't know what I was getting myself into,” the 20-year-old Southern Tutchone man said in an interview last week.

Gilson was one of four youth ambassadors on the journey for the Impossible2Possible program that aims to "encourage youth to reach beyond their perceived limits, and to use adventure as a medium to educate, inspire and empower our global community to make positive change in the world” according to the non-profit group's website at www.impossible2possible.com.

The 200-kilometre journey saw Gilson and the four other youth ambassadors – Sierra Smith of Bosque Farms, New Mexico; Jessie Lilly of Edson, Alberta; and Bridget Beury of Amherst, Ohio – joined by another 12 Impossible2Possible ambassadors to journey through Brazil's Tapojos National Forest.

It marked the third such expedition for Impossible2Possible, the others taking trekkers to the Arctic and the Sahara Desert.

Gilson said he was attending a meeting of the Assembly of First Nations youth council in Winnipeg earlier this year when he was told of the Impossible2Possible program and asked if he'd like to go to the Amazon rainforest.

"I was like, ‘OK, let's do this,'” he recalled thinking before submitting filling out and submitting his application.

It was something out of the norm, he said, so why not go for it?

After not being chosen for the scholarship he was after, he thought this might be a new opportunity for him. Gilson said he's always loved to travel and learn about other cultures, and this was another opportunity to do so.

This wasn't his first trip to South America, his first being to Costa Rica at the age of 15, when he was part of a TV show being hosted there.

And, unlike some of the other trekkers he was travelling with, the experience of hiking and camping was not new to him, though the environment was.

For him, one of the most interesting aspects of the trip was learning about the plants grown there, as well as insects, that are used for medicines and other practical uses, such as a type of ant that, when squished on skin, makes great bug repellant. He also learned of a tree used in cancer treatments.

"The main focus was biodiversity,” Gilson said.

He and the other adventurers also learned of deforestation as well as the local culture, people and traditions in the Amazon.

A large part of the work of Impossible2Possible is involving schools in experiential learning as well as working to benefit the regions visited.

Work is now being down to raise funds to build a new school in Brazil, with Gilson working with Elijah Smith Elementary to sign on to the Impossible2Possible program.

Gilson is also in discussions with Porter Creek Secondary School as well about signing on.

"It's about students taking action,” he said, noting his hope more Yukon schools will become involved.