Meet ATCF Adventure Leader, Flickr

“Photographers care deeply about travel and preservation of landscapes and biodiversity so joining ATCF as an Adventure Leader made perfect sense.”  Ben MacAskill - Resident & COO, Flickr

If there’s one thing Flickr understands better than anyone, it’s the power of an image to spark connection, curiosity, and care. As one of the world’s most iconic photo-sharing communities, Flickr brings together millions of people who document the natural wonders of our planet (from remote alpine ridges to vibrant coral reefs) and use visual storytelling to inspire global appreciation.

As an ATCF Adventure Leader, Flickr directly supports our backbone, enabling us to secure donor dollars to flow straight to community-led conservation projects around the world. This year, they also partnered with AFAR Media to help amplify our Travel Conservation Auction, reaching even more travelers who care about protecting the wild places we all love. 

We sat down with Crystal Duarte, Flickr’s Director of Marketing, to learn more about their work, their community, and why supporting conservation is such a natural fit. Here’s what she shared:

Photo credit: Bureau of Land Management on Flickr as mypubliclands

What does the giving season mean to Flickr and your global photographer community?

The giving season is a chance for Flickr to reconnect with its purpose: using meaningful photography to build community and strengthen the causes that make the world better. It’s a time when Flickr members come together to support the issues closest to their hearts, many through Flickr for the Planet, where photographers raise awareness through compelling visual storytelling.

It’s also a moment for Flickr to reaffirm its long-term commitment to stewardship. Through the Flickr Foundation’s Data Lifeboat project, we’re ensuring that the world’s visual stories (especially those capturing our changing planet) are preserved for future generations. To Flickr, photography itself is a gift meant to be shared, safeguarded, and used for good.

Photo credit: evakovacs787 on Flickr

How does Flickr intersect with conservation and adventure travel? Why does this partnership matter?

Flickr has always been a digital home for people who explore, document, and protect the natural world. Their platform sits at the intersection of conservation and adventure travel, where a photograph of a lone elephant, a mist-covered mountain, or a diver among coral becomes more than an image… it becomes a story with the power to inspire action.

Many Flickr community members are adventurers themselves: hikers, climbers, paddlers, birders, and travelers who use photography to deepen their connection to the landscapes they love. Supporting organizations that protect those landscapes is a natural extension of that passion.

For us, partnering with the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund aligns directly with our mission: building a better world through the power of photography. Visual storytelling fuels empathy, drives awareness, and helps shape a global conversation about stewardship. When paired with real, on-the-ground conservation, the impact becomes exponential.

Photo credit: mendhak on Flickr

Flickr played a big role in amplifying this year’s ATCF Travel Conservation Auction. What inspires your support for grassroots conservation efforts?

Grassroots conservation is built on the same foundation as the Flickr community: passion, commitment, and collective action. Flickr is inspired by photographers who don’t just capture beauty… They use their lenses to protect it.

By supporting efforts like the ATCF auction, Flickr helps shine a light on small but mighty conservation projects making real change around the globe. Our values also run deep: as a member of The Conservation Alliance, 1% for the Planet, and a Climate Label Certified brand, Flickr backs organizations working toward a healthier, more sustainable future.

Photo credit: mendhak on Flickr

How does the Flickr community contribute to conservation storytelling? What role does visual media play in protecting the places we love?

Photography invites people to notice the details. The delicate curve of a leaf, the patterns of migrating whales, the vastness of a desert sky. The Flickr community excels at elevating these moments, turning individual experiences into a collective archive of what’s worth saving.

Through albums, galleries, community challenges, and group storytelling, Flickr provides a global platform for the world’s environmental narratives. These images build connections. They build empathy. And they remind us of what’s at stake.

Visual media is one of the most powerful tools in conservation because it makes the intangible tangible, and the distant personal. With the Flickr Foundation’s Data Lifeboat, these visual records won’t just inspire action today. They’ll serve as lasting cultural and environmental history for generations to come.

When people can see what’s at risk, they’re far more motivated to protect it.