Get into CITIZEN SCIENCE
Holidays that give guests the chance to take part in meaningful environmental research are increasingly popular, with tour operators such as Biosphere Expeditions (biosphere-expeditions. org), Nomad Nature Travel (nomadnaturetravel.com) and Responsible Travel (responsibletravel. com) offering the chance to get involved. You can now do everything from tracking whales in the Azores to recording signs of wolf presence in Germany’s Lower Saxony region and even heading to the far reaches of Antarctica to learn about the effects of climate change.
Exodus launched a collection of 20 Citizen Science Departures trips last year to destinations including the Isle of Skye, Georgia, Botswana, America and Canada, where holidaymakers can spend half a day of their trip taking freshwater samples to help build the ebioatlas, a global atlas of the world’s species, which will enable scientists to develop conservation efforts and stop biodiversity loss.
GET THERE: Exodus (exodus.co.uk) offers a 10-day Trek America: Canyons and National Parks adventure from £5,549pp (departs 13 October), including international flights, accommodation, some meals and visits to Yosemite, Death Valley and Monument Valley. Highlights include hiking under the largest sandstone cliffs in the world at Zion Canyon and an immersion in Navajo culture at Monument Valley. The Citizen Science work takes place at Virgin River in Zion National Park.