Read the 2022 WILDLABS Annual Report

When WILDLABS first launched in 2015, we set an ambitious goal for ourselves: uniting the largest online community of conservation tech users and makers in the world. Together, they would collaborate, learn, and innovate solutions to the many challenges facing our natural world. Every programme, partnership, and step forward that we’ve taken in these past years have made that goal a reality, and today, over 7600 community members from around the world now call WILDLABS home. 

The depth and breadth of knowledge found here in the WILDLABS community is unparalleled, and we’re honored to provide the meeting point for so many experts and innovative thinkers who are working on every continent and in every environment. 

Whether through virtual and in-person events geared toward forging lasting professional connections, sparking innovative ideas and learning crucial skills, groundbreaking research into the present and future state of our field, innovative funding opportunities, and much more, WILDLABS is proud to translate all we’ve learned from our expansive global community into resources that can make conservation technology more effective, accessible, and impactful.

Learning, Building, and Growing with WILDLABS in 2022

The WILDLABS community had a banner year in 2022 with many major milestones to celebrate, with new programmes an expansions offering brand-new ways for conservation tech users and makers to engage and learn together. 

Introducing WILDLABS 2.0

The biggest milestone of all in 2022 - and perhaps in our history - was the much-anticipated launch of our recently renovated platform, WILDLABS 2.0. This redesigned site is your gateway to the resources, connections, and support you need to continue making an impact in the conservation tech field, and has been built entirely around the evolving needs of our members. 

WILDLABS 2.0 brought new life to our conservation tech community with:

• Streamlined, interactive discussions to ask questions, share advice, and connect with your peers
• Publishing tools for all of our community members to share case studies, articles, and more with our global audience
• Easier tools to find members working around the world
• Improved tags and search functions to explore all of WILDLABS' resources, events, opportunities, and more

And as we continue developing immersive new features and engaging programmes to bring tech users and makers closer together, WILDLABS can only get bigger, better, and more integral to this field’s growth than ever. 

Developing the Inventory

With the launch of WILDLABS 2.0, we’ve also laid the groundwork for the next big phase of our platform - The Inventory. 

In our new wiki-style Inventory database, you'll be able to:

• Explore tech tools to see what's currently available for use in your projects and make the best decisions based on real-world feedback, tech specs, price, and more key features
• Add tools and projects to our database yourself
• Leave reviews for tools you've used in the field, and see honest reviews from your peers
•  Find WILDLABS resources related to specific tools or tech types
• See organizations and projects using specific tools around the world

Once again, we’ve developed The Inventory around needs voiced by our community since WILDLABS’ inception, and we are thrilled to throw open the doors very soon and provide access to what we hope will become an invaluable tool to all of you.

Tracking WILDLABS' Progress

2022 also brought the launch of our ongoing Tracking Progress programme that explores key priorities for catapulting movement ecology tech into its next critical phase of evolution. 

With the support of the Moore Foundation, an advisory committee of movement ecology experts, and our vibrant community, we delivered a global horizon scan that allowed us to:

• Take the pulse on current movement ecology efforts driven by technology
• Convene experts from the movement ecology and tech spheres in virtual meetups and focus groups
• Assess key gaps and opportunities to advance movement ecology through tech innovation
• Highlight areas where direct targeted funding can catapult the field forward

And our successful efforts in 2022 have also carried over into 2023, as we hosted an in-person workshop at ICCB to bring together more experts and innovators in the movement ecology space, and are now preparing to use this same framework to explore similar potential for impact and innovation in bioacoustics.

The Tracking Progress programme represents a huge leap forward for us, showing that the WILDLABS community has the ability to impact tech development and key research areas in the real-world. We can't wait to see how this programme will help movement ecology change and evolve in the coming years.

Supporting Women in Conservation Tech

Along with the growth of our online community and our research programmes, WILDLABS is also growing regionally as we expand into areas where critical conservation tech efforts are underway. Significantly, this means expanding our ability to build regional capacity and support future leaders, which we’re achieved through our inaugural Women in Conservation Tech programme. 

Our first outstanding cohort was based in Kenya as part of our ongoing efforts to build and strengthen the conservation tech community in East Africa. These exceptional early career conservation leaders received support through:

• Hands-on workshops in critical conservation tech skills
• Funding for projects
• Bespoke guidance and mentoring from conservation tech experts and leaders 
• Networking with industry partners and leaders from the tech sphere
• Professional development opportunities

By empowering women leaders in conservation technology and providing them with the connections and skills needed to succeed and innovate within this rapidly evolving field, WILDLABS hopes that the positive impacts of our Women in Conservation Tech programme will continue to grow in the East African region and beyond.

Building the Future with WILDLABS 

What we've shared here are just a few of the many recent highlights from our community. In our Annual Report, you'll find even more reasons to be proud of your role as a WILDLABS member.

We have so much to look forward to as we continue to create new ways to discover tech tools and share expertise, connect online and in-person, and learn from the perspectives and experiences of diverse members about exciting projects happening on every continent and in every environment. 

But as we grow, we most of all look forward to continuing to provide you with the premiere platform for conservation technology online and in communities around the world. 

We’ll see you in the WILDLABS community!

Read the full 2022 annual report now.