Members in Action: Adventure Scientists

Adventure Scientists is a nonprofit organization that partners with practitioners in environmental health to design, build, and manage large scale field data collection and monitoring efforts. We recruit and train volunteers from the outdoor community to collect high quality data from around the world. Data quality and scale are our expertise! 

How long has your organization been a member of SER? 

Adventure Scientists is relatively new to SER, we joined in 2021 and are excited to engage with other members and learn about the research you all do, and what data gaps you’re seeking to fill! 

Why did your organization join SER?

Our organizational goal is to be the best data collectors at scale. In order to uphold that goal, we need ambitious scientific partners eager to think big and ready to use their research to create lasting impacts. Adventure Scientists enables scientific partners to access data at spatial and temporal scales that would be otherwise unavailable due to financial and physical barriers. Our model is great for landscape scale ground validation, long term monitoring, repeat sampling, the list goes on. We really shine with projects that involve some type of device deployment (in situ probes, camera traps), or sample collection (check out our Timber Tracking project), though we are also able to train volunteers on observational data collection, within reason. As our planet faces unprecedented challenges, we recognize the importance of ecological restoration in developing scaled solutions. Considering the barriers Adventure Scientists can aid practitioners in overcoming, and the critical work the SER membership is leading, it was a natural fit to become a SER member and find ways to support this network!

In our Mexican Coral Reef project, volunteers collect data on coral structure, fish species, and echinoderms along the pacific coast of Mexico

What are the core values of your business or organization?

We strive to embed our organizational values into all of our work. Each week we pick one and end our all hands meeting by celebrating how the team exercised that value. It keeps them fresh in our mind and at the forefront of our work! 

Our organization’s core values are COPARS:

Creativity - We believe in creating solutions where they don’t currently exist and in challenging ourselves to think beyond traditional ideas.

Optimism - Maintaining a positive outlook allows us to navigate challenges while relying on the support of our team to avoid becoming discouraged.

Persistence - We give each task our all and follow through until it is complete.

Achievement - Ideas are only as good as the results they achieve. We identify where we can have the greatest impact and channel our efforts accordingly.

Reflection - Peer evaluation and self-reflection are essential components of success.

Stewardship - We foster individuals as we do the environment. We encourage our team to pursue a healthy work-life balance and help support each other to achieve our goals!

A volunteer with Adventure Scientists follows QA/QC to collect high quality data for project partners.

Can you tell us more about the ecological restoration projects you are working on?

As an organization that specializes in scaled data collection, our contribution to ecological restoration comes in the form of providing the data needed to inform decision making and amplify scientific impact. 

Currently, we have hundreds of volunteer adventurers deployed across the U.S. collecting field probe data and grab samples from our Wild and Scenic Rivers system. The WSR system is around 13,000 river miles on 226 rivers. While society treats Wild and Scenic Rivers like the crown jewels of our waterways, over 80% of the river miles have either unknown, unassessed, or impaired water quality status. In partnership with the Forest Service, Park Service, and Bureau of Land Management, we are creating the first comprehensive assessment of the WSR system. The data our volunteers collect is going to the EPA’s Water Quality Portal where state agencies can access the data to improve management to uphold the Clean Water Act.  

Another project example is in our first phase, project design. Our partner is seeking to scale cone collections for reforesting areas that have undergone severe burns where natural regeneration may not be possible. Our design team is determining the best way to get volunteers across the Pacific Northwest poised to collect conifer cones when a masting event begins. Because of the unpredictable nature of masting events, we’re using our creative chops to create an engaging, rewarding volunteer experience, while also providing our partners with valuable seed to use in their reforestation work. 

Click the image above to explore Adventure Scientists’ WSR data dashboard!

The Adventure Scientists team enjoying some fun moments in the fall!