Making a Difference

Supported by the LEX-NG Fund, the Alaska Whale Foundation is studying the abundance, health, and behavior of humpback whales in Southeast Alaska waters. Their intensive whale research and direct conservation actions are helping to protect these marine mammals and the ecosystems they depend on for survival.

Ninety percent of the world’s elegant terns and Heermann’s gulls breed on tiny Isla Rasa. For more than a decade, guest contributions have supported an ongoing study of these seabirds through a collaboration with the Gulf of California Conservation Fund, helping scientists understand the challenges these birds face and how to best conserve them.

By virtue of the trust cultivated with local people, guests are welcomed into Indigenous communities deep in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon. Guests learn firsthand about the efforts of local nonprofit Minga Peru to preserve natural resources, improve residents’ health and standards of living, and effect positive change.

Scientists join select Antarctic voyages to study whales and share research with guests. Using aerial drones and cutting-edge technology deployed from Zodiacs to gather and study skin, blubber and blow samples, these scientists are monitoring the long-term health of humpback, minke and killer whales, shedding light on how climate change is impacted the Southern Ocean.

National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions supports the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship and National Geographic Pristine Seas, elevating leaders in education and ocean conversation who are making local and global impacts.