What Earthwatch Institute does

Earthwatch Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1971 that operates a participatory citizen science model connecting volunteers, students, educators, and corporate partners with field scientists across 131 countries to collect environmental research data. Core offerings include multi-day citizen science expeditions (e.g., Mongolian Steppe, Acadia National Park, Peruvian Amazon), education programs (Teach Earth for educators reaching 5,300+ teachers and 1.5M+ students, Girls in Science for high school fellows, Ignite student fellowships), and community-based citizen science programs (Operation Healthy Air with PurpleAir sensors in 30+ cities, Global Pollinator Watch with 300,000+ observations). The underlying technology is a participatory research platform supported by mobile data-collection apps and low-cost sensor networks, with the organization's primary differentiator being a 50-year longitudinal research corpus rather than proprietary software.

Revenue is generated through four primary streams: expedition fees (approximately $3,800–$6,495 per person), individual donations and memberships, corporate CSR partnerships (IBM, EY, Alcoa Foundation, Mitsubishi Electric India), and expedition operations now licensed through Natural Habitat Adventures following the 2025 tuck-in acquisition by Lindblad Expeditions Holdings. The corporate partnership motion is event-driven, with companies sponsoring employee volunteer expeditions as part of sustainability and team-building programs, while individual expedition participants are recruited direct-to-consumer via earthwatch.org, phone booking, and email inquiries. Following the 2025 acquisition, Earthwatch Expeditions operations are now run by Natural Habitat Adventures, and the nonprofit entity has narrowed its operational focus to research funding, education fellowships, and community science programs. Mission-aligned outputs are reported at scale — 1,430 projects supported, 1,200+ policies informed, 10,000+ species studied, and 100,000 scientific research hours contributed annually.

Name

Earthwatch Institute

Legal name

Earthwatch Institute

Website

https://earthwatch.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Earthwatch Institute is a 1971-founded international nonprofit that connects volunteers, students, and corporate partners with field scientists across 131 countries to conduct environmental research, with expedition operations now run by Natural Habitat/Lindblad following a 2025 acquisition.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Conservation Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural & Environmental Education Expeditions (Citizen Science, Conservation Volunteering) (THAAAOAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Conservation, Research & Volunteer Experiences (THAJAIAJ), Environmental Conservation & Sustainability Volunteering (EDAIAGAB), Wildlife & Animal Care Volunteering (EDAIAGAE), Faculty-Led & Research/Field Study Expeditions (THAKAGAK)

Keywords

• Citizen science expeditions
• Environmental field research
• Conservation education programs
• STEM teacher fellowships
• Corporate sustainability volunteering

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Expedition Contributions: Volunteers pay expedition fees (approximately $4,795 to $6,495+) that cover permits, equipment, accommodations, food, and research costs. These contributions directly fund scientific research while supporting local vendors.
2. Donations and Membership: Individual donations support student and educator programs, fellowships, and the organization's global conservation mission. Donors can become members.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with corporations (IBM, EY, Alcoa, Mitsubishi Electric, etc.) for employee volunteer programs, CSR initiatives, and sustainability training programs.
4. Acquisition by Natural Habitat/Lindblad: Earthwatch was acquired by Natural Habitat Adventures (a division of Lindblad Expeditions) as a tuck-in acquisition, integrating Earthwatch's citizen science model into the expedition travel company's portfolio.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Earthwatch Institute connects paying individual volunteers with field scientists to conduct hands-on environmental research expeditions worldwide. The organization also delivers education fellowships (Teach Earth, Girls in Science), citizen science monitoring programs (Operation Healthy Air, Global Pollinator Watch), and corporate sustainability partnerships. Since 2025-2026, the expedition business has been operated by Natural Habitat Adventures (a Lindblad Expeditions Holdings subsidiary), while the nonprofit retains research funding and education programs.

Product overview

Earthwatch Institute operates a platform of citizen science and education programs centered around field research expeditions. The core offerings include hands-on expeditions where volunteers work alongside scientists to collect environmental data (such as Wildlife of the Mongolian Steppe, Climate Change: Sea to Trees at Acadia National Park), complemented by education programs including Teach Earth (professional development for educators), Girls in Science (fellowships for high school students), and Student Group Expeditions. Additional programs include citizen science initiatives like Operation Healthy Air (air quality monitoring) and Global Pollinator Watch. The organization also provides corporate partnership programs for CSR purposes and expedition insurance as a support service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Teach Earth: Professional development fellowships that equip educators to teach science through inquiry, evidence, and real-world relevance
• Girls in Science
• Ignite
• Operation Healthy Air
• Global Pollinator Watch

Products and services

• Earthwatch Expeditions

Named customers7 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Mitsubishi Electric IndiaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2026Extended Pulicat Lake conservation initiative on World Environment Day 2026 into FY 2025-26. Activities include water security, mangrove restoration, climate resilience, employee volunteering, and engagement with local fishing communities and Self-Help Groups. Local women empowered as 'lake stewards' to lead climate resilience efforts.
• Mitsubishi Electric IndiaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 April 2026Lake conservation initiative at Talegaon Dabhade Lake near Pune marking one year since launch. Activities include clean-up drives, plantation, biodiversity mapping, and educational sessions on carbon and water footprints. Aims to strengthen local environmental resilience.
• Lindblad Expeditions Holdings / Natural Habitat AdventurescoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2025Lindblad Expeditions acquired Earthwatch as a tuck-in acquisition under Natural Habitat Adventures in 2025. Earthwatch Expeditions are now operated by Natural Habitat Adventures, with booking through Nat Hab channels. The acquisition integrates Earthwatch's citizen science model into Lindblad's expedition travel portfolio.
• Natural Habitat AdventurescoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerAgreement between Earthwatch and Natural Habitat Adventures enabled transition of Earthwatch Expeditions to Nat Hab operation. The research station in Peruvian Amazon operates on 100% solar power following this partnership agreement.
• Alcoa FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSince 2003, nearly 400 Alcoa employees contributed over 15,000 hours supporting Earthwatch research. Since 2020, Alcoa Foundation supports Operation Healthy Air initiative with education programs and community implementation.
• Denver ZoocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Denver Zoo scientists for Wildlife of the Mongolian Steppe expedition at Ikh Nart Nature Reserve. Conservation model developed at the reserve has been promoted by Mongolian government across all parks.
• NASAflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerNASA funding launched Operation Healthy Air (OHA) in Southern California. Earthwatch engaged community members in assessing ozone and air temperature fluctuations and testing whether local landscaping influences community well-being.
• Schoodic Institute at Acadia National ParkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Climate Change: Sea to Trees at Acadia National Park expedition. Institute provides research and education campus at Schoodic Point. Over 120 years of natural history observations used for climate comparison studies.
• EY (Ernst & Young)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner10-year partnership celebrating EY-Earthwatch Ambassadors. Programs in Mexico support wetlands conservation and sustainable agriculture with local farming communities.
• IBMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate Service Corps program places IBM employees with nonprofits including Earthwatch for sustainability projects. 14 IBM employees from around the world participated in Chicago sustainability initiatives.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Lindblad Expeditions Holdings: Public expedition travel company that acquired Earthwatch via Natural Habitat Adventures in 2025; operates a broader portfolio of small-ship and nature-focused expeditions. Comparably targets affluent experiential travelers seeking destination-driven, science-infused itineraries.
• Conservation International: Large global environmental nonprofit combining field research, policy advocacy, and corporate partnerships—overlapping Earthwatch's model of pairing science with stakeholder engagement, though without the consumer expedition travel component.
• The Nature Conservancy: Largest U.S. environmental nonprofit; similarly blends conservation science, land stewardship, donor-supported programming, and policy impact in a global operating footprint that overlaps Earthwatch's research-and-community model.
• World Wildlife Fund (WWF): Global conservation nonprofit with corporate-partnership programs and citizen-science-style engagement; Natural Habitat Adventures' long-standing WWF partnership makes WWF a directly adjacent peer in the conservation-travel ecosystem.

Direct peers

• Natural Habitat Adventures: Conservation-focused adventure travel company (and WWF partner) that now operates all Earthwatch Expeditions post-acquisition; offers near-identical small-group nature expeditions with conservation and wildlife emphases that overlap Earthwatch's core product.
• National Geographic Expeditions: Premium expedition travel brand offering science-and-conservation-themed trips with on-trip researchers; competes directly for the high-end traveler willing to pay $4K-$6K+ for mission-aligned expedition experiences.
• Adventure Scientists: Nonprofit that pairs outdoor adventurers with scientists to collect environmental data; closest direct peer to Earthwatch's participatory-research model, though leaning more on adventure-sport volunteers than paying travelers.
• SciStarter: Online citizen-science discovery and engagement platform affiliated with Arizona State University; overlaps with Earthwatch as a hub connecting volunteers to research projects, though it does not operate paid expeditions.

Emerging players

• iNaturalist (California Academy of Sciences / National Geographic Society): Massive free citizen-science biodiversity observation platform with tens of millions of data points; competes for the same volunteer-driven biodiversity data layer that powers programs like Earthwatch's Global Pollinator Watch.

Regional players

• Projects Abroad: International volunteer-sending organization offering paid conservation, environmental, and animal-care placements; competes with Earthwatch for paying 'voluntourists' seeking hands-on conservation experiences, particularly outside North America.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/earthwatch_org
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/EarthwatchInstitute
• Facebookfacebook.com/earthwatch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/earthwatch-institute
• Instagraminstagram.com/earthwatch_institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Earthwatch Institute