Adventure Scientists

Adventure Scientists connects conservation scientists with outdoor enthusiasts and community volunteers to access high-quality data at scale to address critical environmental challenges. Thousands of individuals have been mobilized and trained to collect field data that is driving conservation solutions.

The Problem
Conservation efforts are often shaped by data: the size of a population, the integrity of an environment, how quickly it is being reduced, and how effectively certain approaches can facilitate recovery. Yet leaders working at the cutting edge of conservation science and climate and sustainability solutions are often hindered by a lack of access to high-quality, large-scale data from the field.

The Solution
Adventure Scientists equips scientists and conservation leaders with high-quality data collected outdoors that is crucial to addressing environmental challenges. By tapping into the capacity of outdoor enthusiasts and community volunteers to gather data at a scale that is traditionally difficult and/or costly to obtain, Adventure Scientists offers a cost-effective and powerful accelerator to conservation. They partner with and provide this data to research institutions, NGOs, and government agencies tackling pressing environmental challenges. In addition, they publish the data on open-source platforms so it is available to scientists worldwide, enabling them to meaningfully advance their work.

In their first 14 years, Adventure Scientists designed and executed over 150 projects with their partners. Volunteers collected samples of the highest-known plant life on Earth from Mount Everest. Fungi from these samples are now used to increase crop yields around the world through natural symbiosis. Volunteers gathered genetic samples from nine species of trees, which are used to combat illegal deforestation and promote sustainable forests. They also built the largest dataset on microplastic pollution, which more than 250 governments and NGOs have used to address this pervasive issue. Through Adventure Scientists, thousands of individuals have become informed ambassadors for conservation, with 27% reporting they have changed career and/or life trajectories and gone into conservation-related fields after volunteering.

Today, with a particular focus on four areas — biodiversity, climate, forests and freshwater — Adventure Scientists is scaling their impact through a community platform on which volunteers can post their locations and scientists can post their data-collection needs, allowing for more efficient connections. They are also increasing their international partnerships and capacity to engage in large-scale projects through automation of processes.