Adventure Scientists

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 solutions are often constrained by a lack of access to critical field data and funding from government agencies. As a result, scientists working on today’s most pressing issues –– from deforestation to coral reef degradation –– are often hindered by a lack of 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 typically difficult and/or costly to obtain by traditional methods, it is 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, thereby accelerating solutions. In addition, they publish the data on open-source platforms so it is available to scientists worldwide, enabling them to ask broader questions and meaningfully advance their work.

In their first 12 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, which are now used to increase crop yields around the world through natural symbiosis with fungi from the samples. They gathered genetic samples from six species of trees, which are used to combat illegal deforestation and promote sustainable forests. They also built the largest dataset for microplastic pollution, which more than 250 governments and NGOs are using to address this pervasive issue. Adventure Scientists has engaged nearly 20K volunteers in projects to date, empowering people to become informed advocates for nature and allowing them to help address what can feel like overwhelming environmental challenges. Today, Adventure Scientists is significantly scaling their impact by launching a new map-based digital marketplace on which thousands of volunteers can post their upcoming expeditions and home bases, and hundreds of scientists can post their data-collection needs, allowing for more efficient connections and, thus, accelerating conservation solutions.