What is Global Earth Challenge™?

The world is facing a climate crisis — hurricanes batter coastlines, rising seas sink cities and wildfires ravage landscapes. With the planet in flux, we need people of all backgrounds observing these changes and contributing to science. That’s where Global Earth Challenge™ comes in. 

Global Earth Challenge™ is the world’s largest ever coordinated citizen science campaign. The initiative works to integrate existing citizen science projects, as well as build the capacity for new ones — all as part of a larger effort to grow citizen science worldwide.

Using mobile technology and open citizen science data, Global Earth Challenge™ empowers people around the world to help monitor and mitigate threats to environmental and human health in their community. 

Coordinated in partnership with the Wilson Center and the U.S. Department of State, Global Earth Challenge™ connects, builds and enables global communities to leverage the power of scientific research to drive meaningful change. The campaign uses a mobile app to collect billions of observations in air quality, water quality, insect populations, climate change, plastic pollution and food sustainability, providing valuable environmental insight and a platform for policy change in these areas. 

Global Earth Challenge™ is working with research advisory teams around these areas to ensure scientific rigor, launching global events to mobilize the development of new Global Earth Challenge technologies and developing geographic-specific education and action materials to empower communities and make the data meaningful.

Global Earth Challenge™ mobilizes the existing citizen science community while building capacity for new citizen science activities, enabling people around the world to collaboratively address the world's most pressing environmental challenges through technology.

EARTHDAY.ORG’s President, Kathleen Rogers, speaks more about the project in the “Wilson Center Now” video clip below.

WHY CITIZEN SCIENCE

Citizen science involves members of the public in scientific research to meet real world goals. Members of the public collect and share information at scales and resolutions previously unachievable.

Global Earth Challenge™ works to bring researchers and the public together to create high-quality data sets while also providing a space for education on some of the earth's greatest threats.