Do you want to help support important climate change research while funding for science and education is at its most vulnerable? Now’s a great chance to pitch in and support my research as I work to bridge the funding gap and maximize the project’s impact.

Project Overview

I am traveling to Mongolia during the summer and fall of 2025, to assist in conducting research in Khustai National Park (NP) on one of the world’s most charismatic and vulnerable species– Przewalski’s Horses, the last wild horse species alive today. I need your help to narrow my funding gap - all contributions make a difference!

This research can help establish lasting educational partnerships at a time when funding for science and education is being widely reduced. It brings much-needed visibility to cultures and perspectives that have long been underrepresented in the global scientific dialogue, while supporting a country on the front lines of climate change. The findings from this work can not only inform efforts to restore local ecosystems, but also offer nuanced ecological and cultural insights with broad relevance to conservation challenges around and our knowledge of the history human-animal relationships the world.

Need for Funding

National, and subsequently, local competitive funding for environmental and cultural research has been dramatically reduced in recent months and grant opportunities that once were available for early-career researchers like me have been rescinded. This has made it challenging for me to secure the funding necessary to carry out this time-sensitive conservation research. So, as a research assistant with the University of Colorado Boulder, I’m seeking your help to supplement my travel, gear, and lodging costs to ensure this important project can still move forward.

About Mongolia

Mongolia is one of the most sparsely populated countries on Earth, with a largely nomadic population that depends directly on its fragile steppe grasslands for survival. Both the Mongolian people and the Country’s iconic species are part of a nation that has long remained overlooked in the scientific, educational, and cultural dialogue societally and environmentally. Mongolia, like the Arctic, is facing the impacts of climate change far faster than much of the world.

Mongolia’s steppe grasslands are home to endangered Przewalski’s horses and grey wolves, two keystone species that support ecosystem health and vitality. But as climate change intensifies and human development expands, these species face shrinking habitats, limited research support, and growing threats to their survival, challenging the conservation of these small and poorly understood populations and the future of species research.

About Me

I, Catherine Grady, am an early-career behavioral ecologist and conservationist with a strong background in ecological research (from Yellowstone’s wolves to Belize’s jaguars), journalism, documentary, and science communication. In addition to my scientific investigation, I will be conducting multidimensional scientific and creative communications work in Mongolia. I will be assisting a team of CU Boulder archaeology faculty and graduate students and working alongside Mongolian biologists to pursue this project.