EARTHWATCH SEEKS VOLUNTEERS FOR WORLDWIDE ENVIRONMENTAL EXPEDITIONS

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By Sarah Hancock Poole
Editor

There are two main reasons why people decide to contribute more than 
$1,000 and at least two weeks of their time toward scientific field 
research through the Earthwatch Institute, according to Earthwatch 
veteran Mary Blue Magruder. "One - it's a really exciting vacation. And 
two - they can try out a potential career," explained the Earthwatch 
Director of Public Affairs, who has worked for the institute 21 years and 
traveled on about a dozen Earthwatch research and exploration 
programs.

Earthwatch was started more than 25 years ago to promote sustainable 
conservation of natural resources, cultural heritage and public 
appreciation of the applied sciences. The organization partners the 
general public, who are its donors and volunteers, with scientists and 
educators, who perform research throughout the world with the financial 
and hands-on assistance of Earthwatch volunteers. 

This year, Earthwatch is sponsoring more than 120 projects, offering a 
myriad of opportunities for volunteers to participate in the important 
research of scientists and professors around world. The projects range 
from studying medicinal plants in Kenya to assessing stream ecology in 
the mountains of Hawaii to investigating the snake-eating crabs of 
Tobago.

"For people who are trying to decide whether or not they want to 
pursue a scientific career, they have the opportunity to spend two or 
three weeks working closely with one of the top people in that field," 
said Magruder. "Also, we get scientists who lament the fact that science 
has become so specialized. Maybe you're someone who loves 
paleontology and you have become a petroleum geologist - Earthwatch 
gives you the chance to go and do dinosaurs for a few weeks."
But you don't have to be a scientist to go on an Earthwatch 
expedition. In fact, most Earthwatch volunteers are regular people who 
are interested in learning about the world and want to contribute toward 
the protection of its natural resources and cultural diversity. 

Magruder recalled the time when a reporter asked one Princeton 
professor who was working on an Earthwatch project how people 
without any scientific knowledge or background could be of any help. 
The professor, a lemur expert, replied, "`You really don't need a Ph.D. 
to look at your watch and see that it's been 10 minutes, and the monkey 
is still sleeping,'" said Magruder. "The basic premise is that if people are 
willing to learn, then we can train them. Anybody who is bright and 
willing to learn can be useful."

Earthwatch volunteers number more than 4,000 each year, working on 
720 different teams. Two-thirds are Americans and about one-third are 
non-US nationals. "On your research team, you might be working 
alongside someone from New Zealand, England or France. Last year, 
our volunteers came from 46 countries," said Magruder. "Not only do 
you have the chance to help science, you also have the opportunity to 
make friends from all over the world. For many people, that is one of the 
most magical things about it because you can become really good friends 
digging mammoths side by side in the wild dusty fields of Montana!"

Magruder, who has worked on several Earthwatch research projects, 
said that those experiences reinforced her belief that just a few people 
can make a tremendous positive impact on the world. "I majored in 
Renaissance History in college, and to me, a big part of what the 
Renaissance was about was individuals making a difference.While 
working here, I've had scientists tell me that through the help of 
Earthwatch volunteers, they accomplished in a few weeks what they 
thought would take a lifetime," she said.

There have been several Earthwatch volunteers who discovered their 
true calling in life during research expeditions and made dramatic life 
changes to pursue a new career. "We call them the `Life Changers,'" said 
Magruder. "We have bank vice presidents who join the Peace Corps. 
And there was one tire dealer who sold his business to attend graduate 
school in archeology.It is very rare that you really get to try out a new 
career. One nurse, who went on an expedition to Shark Bay in Western 
Australia said Earthwatch was, `The chance to pursue, for a brief while, 
the path not taken.'"

Earthwatch research teams have made some exciting discoveries over 
the years. One recent discovery was a fossilized 650 pound cheetah-like 
lion that had never been found in North America. In 1997, two 
Earthwatch volunteers working with palaeontologist Dr. Keith Rigby 
literally stumbled over a few small bones sticking out of the sandy soil of 
the northeastern Montana badlands. These bones turned out to belong to 
what may be the largest Tyrannosaur ever found. "Those types of 
discoveries are enormously rewarding," said Magruder. "One volunteer 
told me, `I learned not everything has been discovered and aired on 
PBS.'"

Earthwatch Programs

Over the past 25 years, Earthwatch has discovered more than 2,000 
previously unknown species of life, created 15 national parks and 
reserves around the world, built and stocked nine museums to protect 
vanished and vanishing cultures, brought sustainable farming practices 
and medical care to rural villages and produced more than 2,000 
scientific papers. To date, Earthwatch has sponsored over 1,000 research 
projects worldwide, contributing over $37 million to scholarship. 

Through Earthwatch, over 50,000 volunteers have supported important 
scientific and humanities research by contributing their time, private 
funds and skills.

The following is a list of the types of programs Earthwatch sponsors 
and some examples of specific projects in each category:

*Endangered Ecosystems: Measuring the effects of logging on Ontario's 
ancient forests; Saving Borneo's rainforests; and Investigating koalas on 
Kangaroo Island.

*Oceans: Saving Philippine reefs; Saving the leatherback turtle in Saint 
Croix; and Monitoring Florida's manatees.

Biodiversity: Documenting the behavior of Sri Lanka's temple monkeys; 
Studying the bees and orchids of Brazil; and Surveying the land of the 
snow leopard in India.

*Global Change: Building solar ovens in Indonesia; Studying inner 
Mongolia's lost water; and Assessing the ecology of Lake Baikal in 
Siberia.

*Cultural Diversity: Recording traditions and beliefs of rural Russians; 
Documenting traditional wooden homes in Turkey; and Studying Irish 
music at the crossroads.

*World Health: Measuring the impact of public health education in 
Cameroon; Finding connections between stress and disease in Dominican 
children; and Improving the nutrition of Zimbabwe's mothers and infants.
*Origins of Our Future: Unearthing methods and products of an ancient 
farm in Tuscany; Unearthing a major Roman port and military supply 
depot; and Exploring a Bermuda shipwreck.

"The reason we support such a diverse research program is that we 
believe that questions of sustainability need to be looked at and 
approached from many different angles in order to fully understand them 
and to find solutions that are workable in the real world, not just on 
paper" said Dr. Marie Studer, Director of Earthwatch's Center for Field 
Research. "Our goal is to create a global research program, run by 
principal investigators from the international scientific community with 
volunteers from all walks of life and all parts of the world. Together, 
they will pursue scientific inquiry and find the answers we all need." 

For more information on Earthwatch, call 1-800-776-0188 or see the 
Earthwatch  web page at www.earthwatch.org.