Kristyn Ulanday/Harvard Staff Photographer

Earthwatch starts settling into its new headquarters in Boston's Allston neighborhood.

Amid a sea of orange moving crates, and greeted by balloons, lots of coffee, and far too many donuts and other temptations, Earthwatch's US staff arrived at the organization's new, 15,000 square foot headquarters at 114 Western Avenue in Boston on Monday, April 26.

While that day marked the end of months of preparation, it was only the beginning of Earthwatch's new series of initiatives to engage the greater Boston community in its mission of empowering citizen scientists on behalf of worldwide research and conservation efforts.

114 Western, a modern three story building with a modest concrete gray facade, is well known to its Allston neighbors for its many years of service as the home of Boston's public broadcasting TV station, WGBH. The building is now owned by Harvard University, and is located across the street from Harvard's Business School and up the street from the Harvard Allston Education Portal, which hosts a wide range of community/university partnerships and programs. In the coming months, Earthwatch and Harvard will explore a number of ways of collaborating with each other and with the surrounding Allston community. Many Harvard scientists played a significant role in helping to launch Earthwatch in the 1970s--and it is exciting to re-engage with the Harvard community in a number of ways.

As HarvardScience reported, university leadership is enthusiastic about having us as a tenant and neighbor:

“In Earthwatch, we’ve found an organization that will be an important presence in Allston and an exciting addition to the growing green jobs sector in Boston,” said Katie Lapp, Harvard’s executive vice president. “Earthwatch is a respected, research-based organization with an interest in building stronger ties with Harvard, Allston, and Boston.”

Earthwatch President and CEO Ed Wilson observes, “We see our move to across the street from Harvard Business School and into the hub of Boston as critical to our ability to expand our reach to citizens and scientists. We look forward to new partnerships with Boston businesses, schools, and organizations invested in the conservation of our environment."

Building on an already robust engagement with Boston schools, teachers, and students in our education programs, teacher fellowships, and school group expeditions, Earthwatch has marked the move to Allston by announcing three new teacher fellowships for educators from Allston-Brighton schools. Continuing our introduction to the community, we'll be hosting a series of celebrations, open houses, and other outreach events, many of which will be open to the general public, starting in June.

For more information on Earthwatch's big move, read the entire HarvardScience article and a story in the Harvard Gazette.