White water rafting your sort of thing? How about hiking, biking, gliding or snow-boarding? Just about any activity that takes you into the great outdoors can also be an opportunity to contribute to science.
Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation (ASC) is an American organisation set up in 2010. Its mission is to improve the accessibility of scientific knowledge through partnerships between adventure athletes and scientists. It wants (amongst other things) to create “an army of citizen scientists” and to give adventurers the tools to make an impact on the natural environment they enjoy.
Many projects do indeed require you to be a real “adventure athlete”, such as the Ice Worm study for anyone exploring glaciers. However some projects are accessible to most people, for example collecting millipedes or identifying the very invasive garlic mustard plant, which is threatening plant species worldwide.
Adventurers get a lot out of these projects, which can make a hike to the highest mountain more meaningful, and perhaps even more challenging. Scientists get access to more information than they would otherwise have considered possible.
Read more about this fantastic project at http://www.adventureandscience.org/. There is also an interview with the founder Gregg Treinish in New Scientist magazine here.
Have a good weekend, and perhaps think about doing a bit of science research if you are out enjoying the great outdoors!
