Behavior Change
New App Aims to Reconnect Youth with Wonders of the Natural World

We’ve known for years that our kids need more quality time outdoors: Studies and documentaries have highlighted the fact that, between increased migration to cities and the rise of social media and devotion to our mobile devices, humans as a species began our “long march indoors” in the last decade.

This sad trend was the impetus for REI’s ongoing #OptOutside movement — and now, a new app is aiming to reconnect our youngest generations to the natural world: Mammalz — a community-driven content platform dedicated to interactive nature storytelling — will officially launch next month on Earth Day (April 22).

Designed to democratize nature media, which has largely remained limited to an outdated broadcast-television model, the iOS- and web-based Mammalz app is an online hub for socially savvy nature content creators, scientists and consumers to connect with each other and create a global community aimed at reintroducing young users to the wonders of nature.

Users can create, watch and interact with live streams, videos, photos, podcasts and 360° content on topics such as climate change, wildlife conservation, outdoor recreation, scientific research, adventure, exploration and more.

Co-Founders CEO Rob Whitehair and COO Alex Finden established Mammalz as a Public Benefit Corporation with a mission to promote a greater global public understanding of nature and the environment while acting as a bridge between science, media makers, and the public — with a goal “to advance the relationship between humans and the natural world in the most fun way possible,” Finden says. 

Since the release of the beta version of Mammalz for iOS and web in September 2019, Mammalz has curated a community of over 1,000 highly engaged content creators and consumers who share everything from lucky animal encounters to live-streaming primitive fire-making techniques.

“Mammalz is a breath of fresh air, full of people passionate about the natural world. I've had so many sincere and meaningful interactions with its users,” says Mammalz user Charlotte Young, a marine biologist and passionate science communicator. “Unlike other platforms, people are here for the love of what they do, not just ‘likes.’ This is so important to me as a science communicator.”

On Earth Day, Mammalz will move out of beta and onto the iOS App Store with improved video ingestion and streaming functionality; along with monetization tools for content creators.

The creators also plan to create opportunities for real-life engagement within the Mammalz community — conventions, birding competitions, exploration tech challenges, content creator-led wildlife safaris, and photo tours; the vast amount of multimedia data will also allow Mammalz to accelerate the rate at which conservation scientists can decode, track and help halt wildlife trafficking 

The Android version of Mammalz is planned for 2020.

Visit the Mammalz community here; and learn about crowd equity opportunities here.