Our mission is to engage the outdoor recreation community to help document how our mountain ecosystems are changing in the face of climate change while cultivating ecological awareness and conservation! Through this program, we have developed the largest snow microbiome dataset in the world!
Funds raised through this campaign are used for supplies for sample kits and support for student interns.
Giving makes the research we do at the Living Snow Project possible while providing students with meaningful research and programmatic experience. Our interns play a crucial role in running and growing the Living Snow Project.
Thank you for considering giving to our project, every gift and share makes a difference!
What is living snow?
Have you ever seen snow turn pink in the spring and summer in the mountains? That pink snow is actually a community of microbes specifically adapted to live in snow, and are supported by microalgae that give the pink or red color. The algae's dark color increases the rate that snow and ice melt, which are a stress on the rapidly receding glaciers of the Cascades Mountains.
The Living Snow Project, run out of the Kodner Lab and studies snow algae biodiversity using DNA samples from across the Cascades. Community volunteers assist in our research by collecting samples for us when traveling in the mountains on skiing, climbing, and hiking trips. See the project website and our Instagram to learn more about what we do or if you are interested in getting involved!
