Exclusive Interview: Nick Lambert, Chairman of The Polar Citizen Science Collective

The Polar Citizen Science Collective is our charity partner for the Expedition Cruise Network Conference 2026. Find out how this organisation harnesses the power of expedition cruise to further citizen science projects.

For readers who may be unfamiliar with The Polar Collective, could you briefly introduce the organisation and explain its core mission?

The Polar Citizen Science Collective - often simply called the Polar Collective - is a UK-registered charity founded in 2017 by a group of polar expedition guides who recognised the enormous, untapped potential of polar tourism to support scientific research. Our mission is to unite tour operators, scientists, guides, and travellers to enable research and education through citizen science. Over time we hope to generate large‑scale, standardised data collection in the polar regions, ultimately helping to protect these fragile environments.

We use the unparalleled reach of polar tourism and our partner operators - dozens of voyages and thousands of travellers each season - to gather data that would otherwise be extremely difficult or expensive for research vessels to collect. Our purpose is simple: protect the poles and our planet through collaboration and collective knowledge.

What are some of the biggest challenges scientists face when collecting data in the polar regions, and how does The Polar Collective help overcome them?

The polar regions are hostile, remote and often difficult and very expensive to access, making polar science notoriously difficult. Researchers face high logistical costs and limited science vessel availability, with short research time slots exacerbated by often-unpredictable weather.  Even when a scientist secures a berth on a vessel, the data collected may be restricted to a single voyage, resulting in limited and fragmented datasets.

The Polar Collective addresses these barriers by acting as an interface and integrator between and of scientists and the tourism industry. We help researchers design feasible data‑collection strategies, create training materials for guides, and integrate projects into the natural rhythm of expedition itineraries. This ensures that data is collected consistently across many vessels and operators throughout the entire season, dramatically increasing both the scale and quality of the resulting datasets.

The Polar Collective brings together scientists, expedition guides, tour operators, and travellers. What are the strengths of this collaboration?

The strength of our model lies in the power of the collective. When multiple operators participate in a shared project, the number of voyages and therefore the amount of data collected grow exponentially. This creates very cost-effective datasets, far more robust than any single operator or research team could gather alone.

Guides bring scientific training and on‑the‑ground expertise; operators provide logistical reach; scientists ensure methodological rigour; while travellers contribute enthusiasm and manpower. Together, this network accelerates scientific understanding while deepening travellers’ connection to the polar regions. The process is infectious as cruise guests become committed ambassadors for the polar regions as they learn about the vital nature of their environments.

Many people may not immediately associate tourism with scientific discovery. Can expedition cruises contribute meaningfully to polar science and conservation efforts, and can we ensure that the information collected by guides and travellers meets scientific standards?

Absolutely. Expedition vessels spend up to five months each year in Antarctica and another five in the Arctic, giving them unparalleled access to remote areas that a limited numbers of research vessels struggle to reach regularly. The bridge and expedition teams are used to working at a very high tempo, giving them enormous experience and skill operating in very varied conditions in the polar regions. With the many ships covering overlapping itineraries we end up with a situation where as a fleet the tourism industry has close to what is an effectively constant presence at certain sites. Couple that with the amazing quality, accuracy, connectivity, and ubiquity of our personal devices and you have a powerful citizen science capability.

By embedding well‑designed citizen science protocols into these voyages, we can collect high‑quality data at scale. The key is standardisation: we work closely with scientists to develop clear methodologies, training modules, and educational materials so that guides and travellers collect data that meets scientific requirements.

This approach ensures that citizen science is not just an add‑on, but a meaningful contribution particularly suited to long‑term environmental monitoring and conservation.

Have there been any particularly surprising discoveries, insights, or outcomes that have resulted from the data collected through The Polar Collective's network?

One of the most striking outcomes has been the sheer volume and geographic distribution of data collected through our network. Since 2017 more than 650 voyages and 20,000 guests have contributed data to our supported projects - an extraordinary scale that has accelerated research timelines and revealed patterns that would otherwise take years to detect.

Projects such as the Antarctic Snow Algae Study and the South Georgia Big Seaweed Search have expanded scientific understanding of how climate change is affecting polar ecosystems, often uncovering new distribution patterns or environmental indicators that researchers could not have captured alone.

Is there a project you are particularly proud that The Polar Collective was able to facilitate, and what impact has it had?

The Antarctic Snow Algae Study, added in 2024, is a standout example. Snow algae are sensitive indicators of climate change, yet data on their distribution has historically been sparse. By coordinating data collection across multiple operators, we’ve enabled researchers to map algae presence at a scale never before possible.

Similarly, the South Georgia Big Seaweed Search has empowered travellers to help document changes in coastal ecosystems, contributing to long‑term monitoring efforts in a region where scientific access is limited. The data was used for the development of the revised South Georgia marine protected area management plan.

One of the founders of the Polar Collective, Ted Cheeseman, is also the creator of Happywhale, one of our core projects. This project has used a mixture of scientist and tourist data to document some of the longest known whale migrations, creating data sets that justified the introduction of  vessel slowdown zones to protect cetaceans in Antarctica and the sub Antarctic islands.

These projects demonstrate how citizen science can meaningfully advance polar research while enriching the traveller experience.

If you could share one message with the wider expedition cruise industry about the importance of citizen science, what would it be?

Citizen science is not just an educational activity - it is a responsibility. Anyone travelling to the polar regions becomes a witness to rapid environmental change. By engaging guests in structured, scientifically robust data collection, operators can transform that experience into meaningful action.

Our message is: embrace the collective power of your voyages. When we work together, we can close critical data gaps, support global research efforts, and inspire travellers to become lifelong ambassadors for the polar regions. There is no doubt that collectively we can contribute to the common good and our understanding of how our planet works.

Finally, how can expedition operators, guides, scientists, and travellers become involved with The Polar Collective and support its mission?

We welcome participation from all corners of the polar community:

• Our partner Operators can integrate citizen science into their voyages, enriching guest experiences while contributing to high quality data capture and scientific research.

• Scientists can partner with us to expand data collection for their projects and gain access to a large, distributed network of vessels.

• Guides of the PC’s partner operators can use our training platform to build skills and lead meaningful onboard science activities.

• Travellers can join voyages that support citizen science and actively participate in data collection.

Perhaps the simplest way for people to be involved is to support our fundraising. Just as every data point counts, every pound donated does too. As a registered charity of England and Wales, The Polar Citizen Science Collective relies on the generosity of travellers and those in the polar tourism industry to support our mission to protect the poles together. We gratefully accept contributions directly on our website, and we have recently partnered with EasyFundraising so people can generate donations to the Polar Collective whilst shopping online. Over 8,000 retailers will donate a percentage of your purchases on sites like John Lewis & Partners, BT, Expedia, Argos, ASOS, Just Eat, Uswitch and many more. It won’t cost you a penny extra. Thank you so much in anticipation of your support.

Support The Polar Collective here.

Anyone interested in learning more about the Polar Collective can contact them through their website.