Used to pick up signals from tracking gear on the ground, collect images of wildlife and habitats from the air, gather acoustic data with specialized hydrophones, or even collect snot samples from whales' blowholes, drones are capable of collecting high-resolution data quickly, noninvasively, and at relatively low cost.

Over the last few years the conservation movement has been enthusiastically deploying new technologies that make it possible to observe and protect the natural world in ways once unimaginable. But are there any potential risks we need to consider as we deploy the new, exciting technologies?

Geospatial data and analysis are critical for conservation, from planning to implementation and measuring success. The Geospatial group focuses on all aspects of this field, from field surveys to remote sensing and data development/analysis to GIS systems. The ability to visualize and analyze spatial data underpins many areas of conservation, this group may serve as a landing point and gateway for those new to conservation technology. 

Looking for a place to discuss camera trap troubleshooting, compare models, collaborate with members working with other technologies like machine learning and bioacoustics, or share and exchange data from your camera trap research? Get involved in our Camera Traps group! All are welcome whether you are new to camera trapping, have expertise from the field to share, or are curious about how your skill sets can help those working with camera traps. 

The WILDLABS Community Base is the ideal place to get oriented with the all that our community platform offers, hear about news and opportunities, and to meet new friends and collaborators.

The Human–Wildlife Coexistence (HWC) group is a collaborative hub for conservationists, technologists, field researchers, entrepreneurs, and innovators exploring solutions to HWC globally. The group provides a space to share practical tools, pilot novel interventions, connect global communities, and amplify projects that help communities and wildlife coexist. The group emphasizes community voices, socio-economic challenges, and equitable resource sharing, ensuring human perspectives are understood alongside wildlife needs. 

There are educators everywhere working to teach and train the next generation of sustainability minded students. Whether in formal settings (K-12, undergraduate, graduate) settings or informally as science communication now it is more important than ever to work towards advancing Conservation Tech education. By working on interdisciplinary teams we can help develop teaching and training tools to help expand the field of Conservation Technology creation.

Technology is changing and evolving faster than ever, and as it does, our community members are looking for the next big thing to revolutionize their conservation tech work. To chat about your favorite new tools that are just emerging in the field and discover innovations you haven't yet heard of, join this group!

This group is for anyone interested in open source technologies for ecology and conservation. We welcome contributions from both makers and users, whether active or prospective. Here, we believe that open source hardware, software, and data are key to conducting both rigorous and honorable science and research. It is a place to share novel or existing technologies, exchange resources, discuss new projects, ask for advice, find collaborators, advocate for adopting open source technologies, and share strategies for making them sustainable. Open Source Solutions naturally overlaps with existing WILDLABS groups, and we aim to embrace this overlap while maintaining our unique space for growth of Open Source Solutions as a priority in conservation science.

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used in the field to analyse information collected by wildlife conservationists, from camera traps and satellite images to audio recordings. AI can learn how to identify which photos out of thousands contain rare species; or pinpoint an animal call out of hours of field recordings - hugely reducing the manual labour required to collect vital conservation data. The AI For Conservation group is intended to unite and inspire all WILDLABS community members—whether already involved in AI for conservation, or not—to understand how to use and/or directly contribute to open-source research and development efforts.

Anyone can become a citizen scientist - even experts! If you're excited about exploring new areas of conservation tech, contributing to projects, or developing and launching your own citizen science projects or apps, this is the group for you.