WHY IT RATES: Kensington continues to raise the bar on its charitable efforts with $278,000 in funding to globally support conservation, scientific research and exploration, in partnership with the Explorers Club this year. In 2025, Kensington committed $1 million to create the Kensington Conversation Grant in conjunction with the Explorers Club. — Claudette Covey, Executive Retail Editor
Through its partnership with The Explorers Club, Kensington is providing $278,000 in funding for projects in 2026, ranging from satellite tracking of endangered saiga antelopes in Mongolia and portable DNA testing for snow leopard conservation across Asia to research into a globally important tiger shark aggregation in Panama and the preservation of Indigenous ecological knowledge in Vietnam. Collectively, the projects reach across Africa, Asia and the Americas, reflecting both the global scope of the partnership and the breadth of conservation, scientific and cultural work it supports.
The partnership brings together Kensington’s commitment to protecting the places and communities that make travel possible with The Explorers Club’s longstanding mission to advance field research, scientific exploration and conservation around the world.
In 2025, Kensington announced a $1 million commitment to establish the Kensington Conservation Grant in partnership with The Explorers Club, providing $10,000 grants to support vital, on-the-ground conservation projects and put more explorers into the field. In 2026, the partnership expanded with the introduction of the Kensington Exploration Grant, an additional annual funding pool providing grants of up to $25,000 to experienced scientists and explorers within The Explorers Club network.
“Our partnership with The Explorers Club gives us an extraordinary opportunity to support the people who are doing important work in the field to better understand and protect our world,” said Helen Giontsis, President of Kensington. “Exploration has always been at the heart of travel, and we believe it comes with a responsibility to help preserve the wildlife, environments, cultures and communities that make these places so remarkable. We are proud to help put resources directly behind this work and to recognize this exceptional group of 2026 recipients.”
2026 Kensington Conservation Grant Recipients
The Kensington Conservation Grant is open to applicants conducting on-the-ground conservation projects, with particular interest in projects led by explorers from equity-deserving groups. Recipients receive grants of up to $10,000 per project.
Sneha Shahi (India)
River conservationist Sneha Shahi is transforming centuries-old stone pavilions into hubs for water monitoring and river education while training the next generation of “River Guardians.” Her previous work helped transform a dead urban stream into a thriving crocodile and turtle habitat.
Doris Njagi (Kenya)
Mangroves, Bees & Timber: A Community-Based Model for Biodiversity and Climate Resilience
Kenyan social entrepreneur Doris Njagi is advancing a community-based approach to forest restoration, circular economy design and women’s economic empowerment. Her work combines agroforestry and mangrove restoration with programs that equip women in forest-edge communities to become active participants in climate action.
Francis Chebby (Tanzania)
Conservation biologist and spatial ecologist Francis Chebby is studying Tanzania’s endangered kipunji monkey, mapping habitat fragmentation and climate-driven changes while identifying wildlife corridors and opportunities for community-based ecotourism in the country’s Southern Highlands.
2026 Kensington Exploration Grant Recipients
2026 Kensington Exploration Grant Recipients
Introduced in 2026, the Kensington Exploration Grant provides grants of up to $25,000 to selected members of The Explorers Club network with an established record of research and exploration.
K. David Harrison (Vietnam)
People of the Forest: Biocultural Documentation with the Bahnar of Vietnam
Harrison is expanding a community-based research partnership with the Bahnar people of Vietnam’s Central Highlands, documenting ecological knowledge, animist cosmology and material culture while co-developing a multimedia Bahnar-English Talking Dictionary to help preserve knowledge for future generations.
Rebecca Hui (Colombia, Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia)
From Rainforests to the Runway: Connecting Indigenous Bioeconomy Solutions with Cultural IP
Hui is expanding The Rurban Library, a digital archive connecting Indigenous artists with global brands, through field documentation and digitization of bioeconomic craft knowledge. The project aims to digitize more than 450 artworks, train 20 local coordinators and support stewardship of more than 350,000 hectares of forest.
Samuel Ramsey (Peru)
Social Insect Biodiversity Survey of the Boiling River Ecosystem
Ramsey is leading the first focused survey of ants, stingless bees and social wasps across thermal gradients at Peru’s Boiling River to examine how social insects survive extreme heat and what their adaptations may reveal about pollinator resilience and climate change.
Natalie Schmitt (Asia)
Returning DNA to the Mountains: Decentralizing Genetic Access in Snow Leopard Conservation
Schmitt is developing and testing a portable, electronics-free DNA detection system capable of genetically confirming snow leopard samples in under 20 minutes in remote field locations. The project is designed to ultimately extend across 12 snow leopard range countries and give frontline conservation communities greater access to genetic science.
Christian Rutz & Bayarmaa Chuluunbat (Mongolia)
Helping an Ice-Age Relic Survive in the Anthropocene
Rutz and Chuluunbat are deploying GPS collars on 10 endangered Mongolian saiga antelopes to generate the first high-resolution tracking data on the species in two decades. The research will help inform protected-area design, anti-poaching efforts and strategies to mitigate the effects of infrastructure development, mining, livestock encroachment, and climate change.
Carrie Dolan (Kenya)
Dolan’s project will improve field infrastructure for students and researchers conducting climate and health research in rural Kenya, supporting work connecting climate, water and health and helping improve vaccine and nutrition resource allocation for vulnerable communities.
Elodie Freymann (Peru, Germany and U.S.)
Freymann is leading the first systematic investigation of animal self-medication in the central Peruvian Amazon, building on observations of tayras, coatis and tamarin monkeys using medicinal resin. The research could contribute to the first policy framework protecting a plant species specifically because of its role in non-human healthcare.
Rachel Graham (Panama)
Graham is studying a newly discovered tiger shark aggregation near Panama City through satellite and acoustic tagging. The project will also train 10 local fisher-scientists and provide research that could help support the establishment of a Marine Protected Area and reduce long-term fisheries' impacts on tiger sharks.
Keneiloe Molopyane (South Africa)
Molopyane is renewing archaeological and historical investigation of South Africa’s Cradle of Humankind, using modern research methods to better document later African presence in this UNESCO World Heritage landscape while creating opportunities for South African students and local community members to participate in fieldwork.
Mark Hannaford (Jordan and Saudi Arabia)
Hannaford is leading a cross-border desert traverse connecting Petra and Hegra/Aluha along the ancient Nabataean corridor. Bringing together microbiology, ecology, geology and extreme medicine, the expedition will collect multidisciplinary data on life in extreme arid environments while developing a model for responsible expedition science.
Together, the 2026 recipients reflect the breadth of Kensington Cares’ commitment to protecting the natural and cultural heritage travelers encounter around the world from endangered species and fragile ecosystems to Indigenous knowledge and archaeological history.
SOURCE: Kensington press release.
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