International citizen science: making the local global
The Earthwatch Institute is an international non profit organization that works with scientists and scientific institutions to develop citizen science based research and environmental monitoring programs. Each year, Earthwatch supports close to 80 different projects in more than 30 countries and recruits over 3000 volunteers to aid scientists in collecting data. Participants recruited by Earthwatch seek to tap into their passion for learning about science by volunteering to act as assistants for authentic research projects.