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Update from our snow leopard volunteering expedition
When you read this group 3, which arrived and made their way to base safely, is through their training and into field research.
Continue reading “Tien Shan snow leopard volunteering 2026: Group 3”Update from our snow leopard volunteer expedition
Group 2 has put in a big effort all round. The weather has settled, so we returned to Archali for further surveys. Emil and Kate took the pass on foot, overnighting at 3748 metres. The rest of us, five expeditioners in total, drove around into Archali to meet them.
We have now surveyed extensively in two of the three valleys with some new camera traps in place. Finishing the second snow leopard volunteer expedition week, we alternate big days with easier ones consisting of local interviews. These gather important local insights into raising livestock and the surrounding wildlife. Reports of face to face snow leopard encounters continue, but no hard proof yet.
Continue reading “Tien Shan snow leopard volunteer expedition 2026: Archali and more”Media release – 30 July 2026
Innternational wildlife conservation organisation Biosphere Expeditions has published its 13th annual Maldives coral reef conservation report. It details critical marine monitoring conducted in October 2025 across Ari, South Malé and Vaavu atolls by international citizen scientists supervised by professional marine biologists.
While the archipelago escaped a mass coral bleaching event in 2025 following severe thermal stress in 2024, the findings reveal a starkly uneven recovery landscape across the central atolls.
The coral reef conservation report’s release comes at a crucial moment as escalating ocean temperatures, an approaching El Niño cycle and localised human impacts threaten tropical coral ecosystems worldwide.
Continue reading “Maldives reefs under threat, Biosphere Expeditions report confirms”Most people spend their teenage years discovering who they are. For Savannah Lehnert, sixteen was the year she found herself deep in the Amazon rainforest of Madre de Dios, Peru, working as a volunteer alongside scientists on a conservation expedition that would stay with her long after she returned home.
When she joined Biosphere Expeditions with her father back in 2011, she became one of the youngest citizen scientists, but she was far from out of place.Â
The beauty of Biosphere Expeditions teams is that they bring together people (or citizen scientists) from all walks of life and every stage of adulthood, united not by age or profession, but by a shared passion to protect wild animals and places.
‘I was very compelled by the adventure of visiting the Amazon and working with conservation biologists and other volunteers to protect endangered species in an incredible landscape.’
Continue reading “How Joining a Conservation Expedition at 16 Inspired a Lifelong Love of Nature”Update from our snow leopard conservation expedition
It’s Sunday, midway through group 2. As I write this on our rest day, some of the team are catching up on laundry, some are out with our camp manager in search of petroglyphs, and our scientist is in the zone collating the data we’ve gathered so far. We deserve the break, after some bad weather over the last week.
Continue reading “Tien Shan snow leopard conservation 2026: Good, bad, ugly weather”Update from our snow leopard volunteering Kyrgyzstan
Our second group of team members has settled into base camp, marking the successful completion of our first full day in the high mountains of the Tien Shan. The morning began with an introductory lecture led by expedition scientist Emil, setting the stage for the conservation work ahead. Following the briefing, team members plunged straight into practical preparation, undergoing comprehensive equipment checks and mastering essential navigation skills required for traversing rugged terrain safely.
Continue reading “Tien Shan snow leopard volunteering Kyrgyzstan 2026: Group 2”Update from our snow leopard research in the Tien Shan mountains
Group 1 is done, with excellent results, thank you! We thought 2025 would be hard to beat, but we have made a good start thanks to the efforts of our first snow leopard research group.
Continue reading “Tien Shan snow leopard research 2026: Group 1 done”Update from our snow leopard project to the Tien Shan mountains
It’s been a whirlwind of activities over the last four days on our snow leopard project: Interviews with locals, an overnight survey in neighbouring Archali valley, as well as our usual cell surveys. And, yes, more snow leopard records.
Continue reading “Tien Shan snow leopard project 2026: Whirlwind”Update from our wolf volunteering Germany expedition
It’s hard to believe how quickly an expedition week can pass.
During our final two survey days on Thursday and Friday, we documented and collected 20+ wolf scat samples. This is what survey walks are all about: Walking and observing, noticing small things you would pass by otherwise and taking the time to investigate and identify the unknown. But most of all: Sharing your experience, encounters and pictures in the evening with your fellow expeditioners.
Continue reading “Wolf volunteering Germany expedition 2026: Conclusion”
It’s early. Not sunrise-in-a-beautiful-way early. Just early.
It’s dark. You’re tired, slightly uncomfortable and quietly questioning your decision-making skills. The alarm went off before your body was ready. The air is colder (or hotter) than expected. There’s a long day ahead.
This isn’t the version of travel we’re usually sold. There are no loungers, no slow breakfasts, no sense of ease. Instead, there’s a bit of effort. Logistics. And, somewhere in the back of your mind, a small question:
Why on earth did I voluntarily sign up to this?
Continue reading “Type 2 Fun: Why doing hard things makes travel more rewarding”