Open technology in conservation & exploration: A guide for all they wants to start

Last update: 12.05.2020

This is not a finished blog posts, it’s more or less a growing collection about all stuff around conservation technology.

I have a huuuge note file on my digital desk named conservation-tech.md. It’s a 500 lines huge list of projects, people and resources about the wide topic of using technology for open research and conservation I’ve collected over the years and ideas I had to get started in this.

I had already talked to a lot of people about this topic and again and again I wanted to refer to some content in my notes. This was followed by some wild e-mails or Twitter messages. From that came the idea of this blog post and its two goals:

1. I want you to benefit from my research and not have to do the same work searching for resources and/or projects that I’ve already done, and
2. I would like to have a divisible, referencable and searchable list in order to be able to access this list faster and easier myself.

What is open technology and how can you use it for exploration and conservation?

The short: Open technology in exploration and conservation mean to me, using technology to improve and better understand our natural environment and creating things that will have a positive impact to our nature. Openness is a core value:

• Open Source: The solutions we will build should be open to everyone to rebuild this and use it for their own case.
• Open for everyone: This is not limited for scientists, it is also for citizens and foundations, nerds who just want to explore stuff, environmentalists and everyone else.

Open technology in this case is not limited to citizen science, but often there are overlaps between both topics.

A longer explanation of conservation technology, is written by Shah Selbe on Conservify.

Resources

I seperate the resources in three audiences:

• Beginner: People, who have no experience in technology or science.
• Scientists*: People, who would say about thereselves “I am a scientist” or have deep scientific knowledge in their topic, and mostly need knowledge in technology topics, how technology can help in research or where to start in technology.
• Technologists: All people, who have deep knowledge in technology topics like, data, coding or hardware engineering, and mostly need knowledge in scientific stuff or need to know where to help or to start.

*This does not include professional scientists only. It means also citizens who have deep knowldge in their topic they want to make research in.

For Beginner

• The Non-Scientist’s Guide to Contributing to Science
• Video: The science of collective discovery
• TV series: Hacking in the wild
• Getting started in conservation technology

For Scientists

• TER Library: Brief introductions to topics like ‘Data in Agriculture’, ‘DIY Aerial Photography’, ‘Satellite Imagery’ and ‘Rainforest Technology’
• Cactus: Beginner tutorials to building with Arduinos and sensors
• Digital Naturalism: Theory and design guidelines
• Book: Making sense toolkit (How to make citizen science campaigns)
• How open science creates better research

For Technologists

• Protocols to collect and analyze plastic pollution in water
• The Non-Scientist’s Guide to Contributing to Science
• Climate Analyses Toolbox by ESA
• Counting bees with RaspberryPi
• Connecting mangroves with RaspberryPi

Who to follow

In this section I introduce some people they are e_xperts_ on conservation technology.

• Andrew Quitmeyer: Rogue jungle robot guy Former TV dude, former professor. Now full-time weirdo helping teach interaction design within nature.
• Shah Selbe: Conservation Technologist. Fellow at National Geographic. Guy on FieldKit.org and Conservify. Ex-Rocket Scientist.
• Topher White: Conservation Technologist — Founder/CEO at RainforestCx — Explorer at National Geographic
• Alasdair Davies: Arribada Initiative founder, Shuttleworth Foundation Fellow, Tech Specialist at ZSL Conservation, co-founder of Raspberry Pi
• Stephanie O’Donnell: Community Manager at WildLabs, 2017 AAAS Community Engagement Fellow. Scientist, artist, and all things community building.

A few twitter lists about people who tweet about conservation technology:

• https://twitter.com/species360/lists/tech/members
• https://twitter.com/ElephantsCount/lists/conservation-technology1/members
• https://twitter.com/_jenshook/lists/explorers/members

If you want to speak with people on social networks I can recommend to use these hashtags:

• #Tech4Good & #TechForGood
• #ConservationTech
• #WildTech
• #Tech4Wildlife

Projects & Organisations

Open Communities

• PublicLab is a community where you can learn how to investigate environmental concerns. Using inexpensive DIY techniques, we seek to change how people see the world in environmental, social, and political terms.
• WildLabs is a community of conservationists, technologists, engineers, data scientists, entrepreneurs and change makers. Together, we share information, ideas, tools and resources to discover and implement technology-enabled solutions to some of the biggest conservation challenges facing our planet.
• Gathering for Open Science Hardware is a diverse, global community working to enhance the sharing of open, scientific technologies.

Projects, they enables you.

In this section, I introduce some projects they provide technology or open source stuff that enables you to build something on your own.

Hardware & Sensors

• OpenCollar: open-source tracking collar hardware and software for environmental and wildlife monitoring projects
• Luftdaten.info: DIY-Sensor for measuring air quality.
• HackAIR: DIY-Sensor for measuring air quality.
• OpenDrop: Desktop Digital Biology Laboratory
• NemoPi: Underwater Weather Station (still in progress)
• Kaptery: Open source aerial rig kites
• AirCasting: Open-source, end-to-end solution for collecting, displaying, and sharing health and environmental data using your smartphone
• FlyPi: 3-D printable open source platform for fluorescence microscopy, optogenetics and accurate temperature control.
• OpenGeiger: open source tool for measuring the environmental radioactivity
• LADI trawl: DIY research trawl that collects microplastics at the surface of the ocean
• Mataki: An open, low-cost, wirelessly-enabled tracking platform.
• Naturebytes: Raspberry Pi powered Wildlife Cameras
• BioMaker have boards, sensors and software specialized for biological maker.
• Open Source Ocean Data Buoy Project: Tracking the progress of an ocean measurement datalogging project
• Hacking Ecology: Accessible and Reliable Water Monitoring Systems

Data Plattforms

• OpenAQ fight air inequality through open data, open-source tools, and a global, grassroots community.
• PurpleAir: Air quality monitoring network
• airACT: Air pollution in Europe
• SafeCast: Collect radiation data
• Global Forest Watch: Forest monitoring
• Resource Watch: Data about the world’s resources
• Treepedia: Exploring the Green Canopy in cities around the world
• Wildbook blends structured wildlife research with artificial intelligence, citizen science, and computer vision to speed population analysis and develop new insights to help fight extinction.
  • Examples:
  • whaleshark.org
  • flukebook.org
  • giraffespotter.org
  • iot.wildbook.org
  • mantamatcher.org
  • spotasharkusa.com
• Hush City Map collects noise pollution on urban places

Data Tools

• Pangeo: Library and community platform for Big Data geoscience

• Open Data Kit: Free and open-source software for collecting, managing, and using data in resource-constrained environments
• [zoaTrack](https://zoatrack.org/)

  : Calculate movement metrics and space use for individually marked animals anywhere in the world.

Digital Tools

• OpenAerialMap: Open collection of aerial imagery
• Mapeo: Open source, offline-first map editor
• Remap: online mapping platform for people with a little technical background in remote sensing

Organisations, they use conservation technology.

In this section, I introduce projects they are using technology to exploration and conservation.

• Conservify:{.tgwf_grey} Empower conservationists and communities by lowering the barriers to entry for effective conservation.
• CLEAR{.tgwf_grey}: Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research is a feminist, anti-colonial lab specializing in monitoring plastic pollution.
• AirCitizen{.tgwf_grey}: Air quality measured by citizens
• EarthCoLab{.tgwf_grey}: Enterprise that brings together diverse individuals, institutions, and knowledge to develop new approaches to learning, academic communication, and business
• Captor{.tgwf_grey}: Combination of citizen science, collaborative networks and environmental grassroots social activism helps to raise awareness and find solutions to the air pollution problem, having a high potential impact on fields such as education, social innovation, science, environment, politics and industry.
• UpRose{.tgwf_grey}: Intergenerational, multi-racial, nationally-recognized, women of color led, grassroots organization that promotes sustainability and resiliency through community organizing, education, leadership development and cultural/artistic expression in Brooklyn, NY.
• HabitatMap{.tgwf_grey}: Environmental health justice organization
• AdventureScientists{.tgwf_grey}: Get scientists the data they need ​to solve environmental and human health challenges
• SafeCast{.tgwf_grey}: Global volunteer-centred citizen science project working to empower people with data about their environments
• EyeOnWater:{.tgwf_grey} Observe water quality to their colour
• Marine Debris Tracker{.tgwf_grey}: Easily report where you find marine debris or litter anywhere in the world
• Rainforest Connection{.tgwf_grey}: Use technology and big data to enable on-the-ground partners to save the world’s most threatened rainforests and habitats
• Arribada Initiative works to unlock access to open source conservation technologies.
• Wild Me{.tgwf_grey} combatting extinction with citizen science and artificial intelligence.
• OpenPlant{.tgwf_grey} believe that there is a crucial need to accelerate the development and open sharing of new tools and methods for plant synthetic biology.
• Smart Parks is using IoT technology to improve conservation and park management
• COACT: Centre for Open & Appropriate Critical Tech – incubating open-source tech solutions to the worlds environmental challenges.
• FreeStation: Uses open source hardware, open source software and open source 3-D printing technology to build and deploy reliable environmental data loggers with the lowest cost and easiest DIY build possible.

Conferences & Programs

• Jungle Life Asia: Educational programs that integrate Art, Biology, and Nature in diverse and unique environments
• [DiNaCon](https://www.dinacon.org/)

  : Experimental conference about exploring new ways of interacting with nature

• Machine Wilderness: An art/science programme exploring how human technologies could relate to the environment the way organisms do.
• GOSH Gatherings

Funding

• PublicLab offers a 200$ fund (once per month) to host events
• Prototype Fund supports Open Source projects with up to 47.500 Euro per projects/team
• Helium Grants are $1,000 grants for people exploring questions at the edge of mainstream thinking
• BioMaker.org is supporting projects with a Starter Kit and funding up to £3000.

Stories

In this section I list all stories and articles about conservation technology:

• Open soil science: technology is helping us discover the mysteries under our feet (The Conversation)

Misc stuff

• Citizen Science Earth Observation Lab of the European Union

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**Please contribute to this collection
** You know additional resources, more interesting projects or you have to contribute any other stuff like feedback, critique, …? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me by mail or twitter.