Ready to get involved? Jump to current opportunities.
Working with Thriving Earth Exchange as a Community Scientist is an opportunity to collaborate directly with a local community, learn new skills, develop new friends and colleagues, and expand your notion of what it means to be a scientist.
Who are Community Scientists?
Community scientists include geoscientists, public health professionals, analysts, engineers, architects, planners, anthropologists, political scientists, economists, and other specialized fields. They can be of any career stage and engage with their community partners locally or remotely. All have a willingness and desire to offer their technical skills, expertise and networks to support communities in advancing their priorities through a community science project.
What does a Community Scientist do?
A Thriving Earth Exchange community scientist is a volunteer who provides technical expertise and inputs to a project over its lifetime (typically 6-18 months) in partnership with community leads who themselves bring community knowledge and expertise to the project. The scientist works with the community lead(s) to refine and implement a project plan that will use their science to advance the community’s priority. Every project is managed and supported by a Community Science Fellow trained by our staff.
How can I become a Community Scientist?
Thriving Earth Exchange posts volunteer opportunities for scientists and technical experts on our website on a rolling basis – see below for current opportunities. Specific skills and expertise requested are outlined on each community’s project page, and many projects can be joined remotely.
If you see a project that you’re interested in joining, please complete this form, selecting the community name and the Community Science Fellow managing the project will contact you to discuss.
Note: As projects are launched at the request of communities, we recognize that there may not be a current project with needs matching your expertise. If you are interested in volunteering on a future community science project through the Thriving Earth Exchange, please share your information with us here. If we launch a project that fits your expertise and experience, a Community Science Fellow will contact you discuss the opportunity.
Projects seeking scientists and technical inputs
The gallery below features projects currently seeking community scientists to join their teams.
How to use this gallery:
All projects listed below are actively seeking scientific/technical inputs.
- To review a project in more detail, click on the tile to open a brief description. The website link on the pop-up will take you to a page providing additional details about the project and expertise sought.
- Projects with a green bar on the left side of the “tile” have been added within the past 30 days.
- Use the magnifying glass on the top right to search by keywords
- Use the “Filter” function on the top left to sort data. Select “+ Add Condition” then define a search. Recommended searches include:
- Where [Tags] has any of – select options
- Where [State] has any of – select options