Wherever explorers and adventurers travel these days, there are scientists and researchers back home desperate for hard-to-obtain environmental data that would otherwise be unavailable for conservation.
That’s the premise behind the formation of Adventure Scientists (AS) in 2011, a nonprofit that equips partners with data collected from the outdoors that are crucial to addressing environmental and human health challenges. As such, it serves as an invaluable connection between the conservation and outdoor communities.
Founder Gregg Treinish of Bozeman, Montana, addressed the Rocky Mountain chapter of The Explorers Club in Boulder, Colorado, on Dec. 5, 2019, during a public presentation at the Fjallraven retail store. Fjallraven is a supporter of the Club and sponsors a “We Love Nature” field grant administered by the Club.
AS studies some of the world’s most pressing issues where the collection of field data is crucial. Data collection can be expensive, time consuming, and physically demanding, which limits the role that science currently plays in the conservation process.
Adventure Scientists tackles this problem by recruiting, training and managing individuals with strong outdoor skills – such as mountaineering, diving or whitewater kayaking – and empowering them to retrieve hard-to-obtain data from the far corners of the globe.
One researcher asked explorers and adventurers associated with AS to collect poop samples. Treinish explains, “We sent volunteers around the world to 110 countries seeking scat samples.”
As part of its timber tracking initiative, the group also collects samples of bigleaf maples to build a genetic reference library to help confirm that the wood, popular in guitar making, is harvested legally. The tonewood is highly prized for its complex beautiful grain, to the extent that poachers are illegally cutting down bigleaf maples in the Pacific Northwest.
The list of Adventure Scientists projects is extensive, all supported by hikers, bikers, skiers, and photographers from all walks of life who have chosen to make a difference by donating their time in the field.
Learn more at AdventureScientists.org