Gregg Treinish | The Explorers Club 50

Gregg on an expedition in the Okavango Delta Author: James Kyd

Citizen Science Advocate

Unleashing the power of citizen science

meet gregg

Gregg Treinish founded Adventure Scientists in 2011 based on his passion for exploration, scientific discovery, and conservation. The nonprofit provides partners with access to scientific data that amplifies and accelerates solutions to environmental issues. The organization does this by mobilizing and training outdoor volunteers and community members to gather data at unprecedented scales. More than 200 governments and scientific institutions are utilizing the largest dataset on Earth for microplastics pollution, which was amassed by Adventure Scientists. Treinish is an Ashoka Fellow and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. He holds a biology degree from Montana State University and a sociology degree from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Nominated by: Alan Eustace FN'15

Class of 2023 Location Montana, USA

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Gregg addresses a group of volunteers alongside partners from the US Forest Service in Olympic Peninsula Author: Adventure Scientists

Our work is to mobilize people all around the world, giving them the tools they need to help solve environmental issues. We have mobilized, trained, and certified more than 20,000 volunteers to collect scientific field data for our partners at NGOs, government agencies, and universities. While in the past the field of citizen science has been ridiculed in the belief that the data collected by nonprofessionals must be subpar, this is simply not the case. We pride ourselves on collecting high-quality data. We have shown repeatedly that when careful safeguards are in place, the quality of the data can become an essential piece of the puzzle to drive lasting change. For the data to be used, it must hold up to scientific scrutiny, and in court, and be able to provide direction for management agencies. Adventure Scientists’ partnerships have yielded groundbreaking discoveries, aided accountability across supply chains, and catalyzed initiatives that will positively impact the planet for generations.

Gregg addresses a group of volunteers alongside partners from the US Forest Service in Olympic Peninsula Author: Adventure Scientists

“We have shown repeatedly that when careful safeguards are in place, the quality of the data can become an essential piece of the puzzle to drive lasting change.”

- Gregg Treinish

We plan to expand the number of active projects both domestically and internationally, targeting biodiversity, fresh water, climate, and forests, and ensure that anyone who would like to get involved as a volunteer has a way to do so. Key to our success is our focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, applying this lens across the organization.

The impacts of climate change are urgent and all too visible, stark reminders of the importance of Adventure Scientists’ work. We are at a critical juncture on this planet, and engaging our tens of thousands of volunteers to help environmental leaders address critical conservation challenges is nothing short of essential. Our volunteers can access areas that the general public cannot. Compared to traditional field science, we are able to deploy many more people, much more quickly, across a massive spatial and temporal scale. The resulting systems-level change we are able to foster is creating a new way to help science have an impact.

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