Since becoming an official contributing writer for Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation, I've been speaking to some pretty incredible people. I regularly am in contact with Gregg Treinish, the founder / director of ASC and 2008 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year for his first-ever through hike of the Andes mountain range. Most recently, I wrote a blog post advocating for ASC and the American Alpine Club, which can be found here at the ASC Blog.
Gregg has set me up to interview several fascinating adventurers and scientists, with many more on next year's slate as ASC continues to pick up steam.
Dave and Amy Freeman-
Dave and Amy run Wilderness Classroom, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to teaching young students about the importance of ecosystems around the planet. Dave and Amy are currently finishing up a three year, 11,700 mile trek by paddling from the Great Lakes to Key West by way of the Atlantic Ocean. They are participating in several ASC studies, and my story detailing their expedition can be found at the ASC Blog.
Lonnie Dupre-
Lonnie is a world-renowned mountaineer who attempted the first-ever winter solo summit of Denali in Alaska last year. Lonnie had to bivouac in an emergency snowcave for seven days at 14,000 feet before even being able to retreat. While in the cave and on his descent, he fought 96 mph winds and temps that, with windchill factored in, hit -75 degrees Fahrenheit. Lonnie has his own adventure blog with detailed accounts and audio clips of his harrowing attempt. Beginning Dec. 29th, he will attempt to summit Denali again while collecting microbial samples for the ASC Microbe Study.
Dragos Zaharescu-
Dragos is a climatologist at the University of Arizona in Tuscon, and heads a fascinating study about nutrient cycling via microbial breakdown of bedrock in alpine environments. Dragos is working with Lonnie Dupre to collect samples from high on Denali's apline ecosystem, and through ASC advocates the link between the effectiveness of science and public awareness. He is excited about the future of ASC and has said wonderful things of his involvement with the organization thus far. Stay tuned for my next story that will explain the relationship between Dragos, Lonnie and their study.
