How do field grants work?
What is covered in a field grant?
Who is eligible?
What is the profile of a typical Earthwatch volunteer?
What are some tasks that Earthwatch volunteers can complete?
How do field grants work?
Earthwatch awards research grants on a per capita basis; the total grant amount is determined by multiplying the per capita grant by the number of Earthwatch volunteers participating on the project. Per capita grants average $850, and the average project grant range is between $17,000 and $51,000 for one full field season. A project usually involves 30 to 60 total volunteers per field season, with 5 to 12 volunteers each on 4 to 5 teams throughout the year. Each team typically spends 8 to 15 days in the field. Shorter and longer teams are encouraged as appropriate.
The financial and volunteer structure of each grant can be discussed with Earthwatch staff members at the preliminary proposal stage. Each grant can be renewed annually, contingent on staff evaluations of the project's scientific, logistical, and budgetary success in the field. We encourage long-term research projects and request that principal investigators indicate their projected research term. Earthwatch renews about two-thirds of its grants each year. Over 25 percent of our projects have received support for 5 years or more.
Sample Project Structure
Team I: May 1-15
Team II: July 1-15
Team III: Sep 1-15
Team IV: Nov 1-15
What is covered in a field grant?
Earthwatch grants help cover the expense of maintaining research staff and Earthwatch volunteers in the field, including:
- food, accommodations, and in-country travel
- Principal Investigator travel to and from the field
- basic field equipment, including equipment rentals
- support of staff and associates from the host country
Earthwatch does not provide funds for capital equipment (e.g. vehicles, boats), Principal Investigator salaries, university overhead, or preparation of results for publication.
Who is eligible?
Earthwatch supports doctoral and post-doctoral researchers, or researchers with equivalent scholarship or commensurate life experience. Earthwatch welcomes proposals from advanced scholars and professionals of any nationality, covering any geographic region. Applicants intending to conduct research in foreign countries are strongly encouraged to include host country nationals as part of their research staff.
What is the profile of a typical Earthwatch volunteer?
- 16 to 85 years of age
- College-educated (40% have a graduate degree)
- English speaking
- Willing to donate time, money and services to scientific field research
- Committed to becoming involved in identifying solutions to scientific, environmental, and cultural questions and issues
- Many volunteers take their research and conservation experience back to the workplace and integrate the knowledge they have gained in their business and other activities
What are some tasks that Earthwatch volunteers can complete?
Earthwatch volunteers can greatly increase the data-gathering capacity of field research projects. In the past, volunteers have been successfully used to:
- excavate and map archaeological sites
- photograph and record sounds of marine mammals
- record and document music, dance, oral and folk traditions, and vernacular architecture
- monitor water quality in lakes, streams, wetlands, and agricultural areas
- track animals and observe their behavior
- collect and prepare plant specimens
- observe, capture, measure, and band migratory birds
- survey flora and fauna
- study the applications of indigenous knowledge to sustainable agriculture and development
- gather ethnographic and public health data
- teach appropriate technologies and construct solar ovens
- study threatened marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs, mangroves, and estuaries
- assist with underwater archaeology
- conduct basic research in geology, volcanology, palaeontology, geomorphology, glaciology, and hydrology
- study the causes, effects, and mitigation of coral bleaching
- share all field chores associated with professional field research
In addition, on numerous occasions Earthwatch volunteers with specific professional expertise--from computer programming to electronics to construction to public health--have made valuable contributions to research efforts.