Step 01
The observations
Across rural Washington and B.C., residents reported persistent atmospheric haze, unusual particulate fallout on snow, and health complaints clustering in specific corridors.
About
About the Coalition
A non-profit research and education organization studying geo-engineering contaminants in soil, air, and water — built to serve communities that mainstream environmental research has historically overlooked.
Founder
Wayne Burgess
Founder · Director of Research
Communities have been telling us for years what they were seeing in their air and water. The Coalition exists to take those observations seriously — and to bring credible, independent science to the answer.
— Wayne Burgess
Wayne Burgess founded the Coalition for Geo-engineering Research in 2025 after years of working alongside First Nations communities, environmental researchers, and laboratory specialists concerned about persistent atmospheric and ground-level contaminants showing up in places that didn't fit the standard industrial-runoff story.
His approach is straightforward: take community concerns at face value, design careful sampling protocols, send everything through an accredited laboratory, and publish what the data actually shows — without political shading.
Wayne directs the Coalition's research priorities, manages partnerships with laboratories and research institutions, and leads community education programs across British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.
Founded
2025
Headquarters
Pasco, WA
Origin
How the Coalition came together
The Coalition wasn't built around a single grant or institution. It was built around a question communities kept asking — and a refusal to settle for hand-waving answers.
Step 02
The methodology
A scientific advisory protocol was drafted: standardized soil, air, and water sampling — with First Nations elders and frontline residents as co-investigators.
Step 03
The partnership
RJ Lee Labs joined as the Coalition's analytical partner, providing the accredited high-altitude particulate analysis needed for credible findings.
Today the Coalition operates as a fully independent non-profit: funded by community grants, donor contributions, and in-kind laboratory support — never by parties with a financial interest in the research outcomes.
Cultural Mission
Built with First Nations & Indigenous communities at the center.
First Nations and Indigenous communities have monitored their lands and waters for generations — and have repeatedly identified environmental changes long before regulatory agencies acknowledged them. The Coalition treats this knowledge as authoritative.
Our cultural protocols were developed in consultation with elders and tribal environmental staff. Before fieldwork begins in any community, we seek consent, integrate local knowledge into our sampling design, and commit to sharing findings back through whatever channels the community prefers — public report, council briefing, school program, or all of the above.
Our goal is partnership, not extraction. The data belongs to the community.
Cultural commitments
- Free, prior, informed consent before any community sampling
- Local knowledge integrated into sampling design and interpretation
- Findings shared in plain language, in community-appropriate formats
- No publication that names a community without explicit agreement
Laboratory Partnership
Accredited high-altitude particulate analysis with RJ Lee Labs.
The Coalition partners with RJ Lee Labs — a leading independent laboratory recognized for industrial-hygiene and particulate work — to identify and analyze high-altitude aerial contaminants. Every Coalition sample is processed through documented chain-of-custody and reported with the analytical detail required for credible scientific and regulatory conversations.
Independent laboratory
RJ Lee operates outside of the agencies whose data we audit.
Particulate specialty
Recognized expertise in identifying micro- and nano-scale particulates.
Chain-of-custody
Every sample documented from collection to final report.
What sets us apart
Why the Coalition's research holds up
Four commitments that shape every program we run — from the smallest soil sample to the largest community education event.
Independent
No corporate sponsorship. No predetermined conclusions. Methodology and findings published openly.
Culturally rooted
Our research begins by listening — particularly to First Nations elders and frontline community knowledge holders.
Accredited
Through RJ Lee Labs, every sample receives accredited, court-defensible analysis with documented chain of custody.
Community-first
Findings belong to the communities studied. Reports are written for residents, not just regulators.
Work with us
Bring credible science to a question your community is asking.
Whether you're an environmental staff member, a tribal council, a researcher, or a concerned resident — get in touch about a research collaboration.