Hi everyone,

I’m developing a QGIS training course specifically for conservation practitioners working with patrol data (e.g. SMART) and other field-based spatial datasets. The course is grounded in my background in criminology and conservation crime science, and is designed to help teams make more strategic use of their data for planning, analysis, and reporting.

It focuses on practical, low-tech-friendly workflows, from data cleaning and visualisation to identifying hotspots and evaluating patrol coverage, using open-source tools. The aim is to support frontline teams and analysts in turning routine data into actionable insights.

I’m currently preparing to run a pilot version of the course and have space for a few more participants. I’d love to hear from:

• Anyone interested in participating (especially staff from protected areas or NGOs)
• People working on similar training materials who might want to exchange ideas or feedback
• Anyone with suggestions to help avoid duplicating existing resources

The pilot will help me refine the structure, content, and delivery based on real user needs. If you’re working at the intersection of conservation and security, or just keen to strengthen your team’s spatial data capacity, I’d be really happy to connect.

Feel free to reply here or DM me if you'd like more details.

Thanks so much,
Emma Richards
Conservation researcher | Spatial analyst | Criminologist
Based in Zambia