Gregg Treinish

Athlete, Environmentalist, Scientist, Social entrepreneur

Gregg Treinish founded Adventure Scientists in 2011 based on his passion for exploration, scientific discovery and conservation. Based in Bozeman, MT, the nonprofit connects outdoor enthusiasts and community volunteers with scientific partners to collect high quality field data to address conservation challenges across the globe. Adventure Scientists focuses on four key areas: forests, freshwater, biodiversity and climate. Examples of the organization’s impact include: -Collecting samples of the highest known plant life on Earth from Mount Everest, which are now used to double crop yields around the world through natural symbiosis of the fungi found. -Collecting scat samples from more than 100 countries to help scientists from Harvard Medical School narrow the search for genes responsible for antibiotic resistance. -Building the largest dataset on Earth for microplastic pollution, used by more than 300 scientific institutions and governments to address this issue. -Gathering thousands of samples across threatened tree species ranges to create genetic and chemical reference libraries that help detect timber origin and prevent illegal logging and deforestation in partnership with the US Forest Service National Geographic named Gregg Treinish “Adventurer of the Year” in 2008 when he and a friend completed a 7,800-mile trek along the spine of the Andes mountain range. In 2015 he was named a DRK Foundation social entrepreneur and one of Men’s Journal’s “Most Adventurous Men.” In 2017, Gregg was named an Ashoka Fellow, in 2018 one of the “Grist 50 Fixers”, and in 2020, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. Gregg was named to the Explorer’s Club 50 and the Hatch 100 in 2023. Gregg holds a biology degree from Montana State University and a sociology degree from CU-Boulder. Ground Truth for Nature is a new initiative of Adventure Scientists that seeks to provide MRV through community science programs led local communities that are developing their own carbon projects. They’re currently working in the Peruvian Amazon in partnership with two ethnic groups on a large ARR project. The project will employ 108 local community members as field data collectors and three full-time community members as staff.

Mobilizing volunteers to collect data at scale to accelerate conservation and climate solutions.

If we engage and train outdoor enthusiasts and community members to collect high-quality biological data at scale for leaders working at the cutting edge of conservation, our ability to solve the world's biggest environmental challenges is only limited by the ability to ask the right questions.

I was a finalist for the 2017 TED prize, attended the 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022 events and always love connecting with TED attendees.

Gardening