1284
I'm there! (piefed.cdn.blahaj.zone)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 244 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

So, yes actually. Check out earthwatch.org, they offer trips where you participate in ecological research and/or conservation efforts. For example, here is a 2-week trip focused around counting animal populations in the Mongolian steppe:

https://earthwatch.org/expeditions/wildlife-mongolian-steppe

These trips are somewhat pricy (this one is US$4250), but typically include room and board for the entire period and all local travel. Also:

As a paying volunteer, you directly fund scientific research by covering permits, equipment, and other costs while supporting local vendors.

Here is one studying sea turtles in Costa Rica:

https://earthwatch.org/expeditions/costa-rican-sea-turtles

You do have to make your own arrangements for traveling to wherever the research location is.

Earthwatch Institute has been around since 1971 and has a pretty good reputation, so I believe the trips are reasonably safe.

[-] cybervseas@lemmy.world 72 points 1 month ago

Thank you this is exactly what i was looking for. Cataloguing critters I found on a marine reserve in the Bahamas last week was so interesting but doing it all without any experts to learn from was lonely.

[-] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 35 points 1 month ago
[-] cybervseas@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago

Mostly I was checking out the fish and invertebrates coming up into the shallow waters and rock pools. Filed my first ever inaturalist observations!

[-] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Congratulations on iNaturalist! We use images from iNaturalist on Wikipedia all the time, so we're intensely grateful for the work y'all do. Did you see any crustaceans by chance?

[-] cybervseas@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

It was so hard to get a good look at them but some of the rock pools had some kind of shrimp in them. I could just barely make them out, and definitely couldn’t get any pictures. Love seeing invertebrates!

[-] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Oh hell yeah. I don't do too much research into shrimps, but if you ever fall way too far down that rabbit hole, the guy to go to is Sammy De Grave at the University of Oxford. He works on WoRMS (the World Register of Marine Species) and absolutely loves caridean shrimp. Really nice guy.

[-] Scavenger_Solardaddy@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 month ago

Wow, I didn't know that! I move a lot around my country for my work and I make it an habit to snap pictures and post any interesting flora and fauna to iNaturalist. Many times I even post pics of common weeds and I found out they have some cool names and properties! In fact I learned about a lot of new herbs which I thought were just weed. I love iNaturalist, learned a lot from the community. Everybody should give it a try. What's normal or common for you might be a new discovery for someone else.

[-] icelimit@lemmy.ml 24 points 1 month ago

Yeah I've been salivating at some of their trips. But it's really pricey.

[-] TheBat@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

But it's really pricey.

Yeah lol. Not for people in third world countries. 😪

[-] icelimit@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 month ago

Some of their trips go to jungles in third world countries, if you catch my drift

[-] AlecSadler@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 points 1 month ago

Holy shit thank you for this.

[-] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 11 points 1 month ago

I'd consider popping over to Mongolia and helping with grunt work, but $4000? Do they have a cheaper package where you bring your own motorbike, food, tent, gear, etc?

[-] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 4 points 1 month ago

That's just called "going camping" and it probably costs more than 4 grand to get all that shit to Mongolia.

[-] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 2 points 1 month ago

Depends on where you are, Ill probably be in NE China again by summer, so a sleeper train to the border would cost ~50USD depending on city, then there's daily buses to ulaanbaatar.

Then buy a used motorbike and sell it when you're finished.

this post was submitted on 02 Jan 2026
1284 points (99.8% liked)

Science Memes

19037 readers
687 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS