Gregg Treinish didn’t start out as an outdoor enthusiast, but found solace and purpose in nature during his youth. After years of enjoying the outdoors, he was left feeling a need to give something back to the world. He found fulfillment by using his passion for outdoor adventures to gather critical data that researchers need for conservation and scientific research. That’s how his nonprofit organization, Adventure Scientists, came to be. “We harness the collective power of the tens of thousands of people that are outside every day — who love the outdoors and have a passion for exploring the outdoors — and we give them real scientific missions that they can do while they’re out there that benefit conservation,” Treinish says. Those missions have helped create the largest ever data set on microplastics (at the time), aid research into antibiotic resistance, and collect critical data on threatened species. All of these impacts, Treinish says, derive from the shared sense of purpose among volunteers who feel their actions truly matter and make a difference in the world, an ingredient he argues is necessary to bring about positive change. “It is so fulfilling to watch somebody who felt helpless against climate change, the microplastics issue, biodiversity loss — any one of these massive problems we’re facing — [and] give them a way [to feel] they matter and that they can have a positive impact. And it changes their lives. It changes the way they see the world,” Treinish says. His team is…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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