I love those numbers 😀 indeed a holy grail. I’ll send you a private mail.

@HeinrichS there’s still time for you or anyone else to make a funding submission to the wildlabs 2025 grants ❤️❤️❤️

I haven't applied for wildlabs funding, but I would love for others to apply that want to use my systems. My preference goes to those who want to use the most units :-)

Thanks @alexrood for creating this visual! 

Hi Dominique,

Thanks for your responses and congratulations on getting trained! 

I can see that speaking directly with a climbing professional could be the most beneficial because what climbing methods and equipment you may need will depend very much on individual project goals and budgets. Did you end up speaking with your trainers about your field research goals and what climbing methods may be best for you? 

Hi Mark, thanks for responding. I think you've identified one of the most difficult parts of research climbing: maintaining your climbing skills and knowledge between field sessions. 

My husband is an experienced arborist and practices his skills almost daily. I am not an arborist, so I schedule climbing time to keep my abilities fresh and my husband is there to assist. But I know it's difficult for individual researchers to practice on their own and they should only be climbing alone if experienced and not in a remote area.

However, it's possible to train researchers to safely climb in the field for multiple field sessions. My husband and I trained a group of climbers in Cameroon in January, 2024. The goal was to train four climbers who would go into the remote rainforest for several weeks and set up camera traps. They would deploy and retrieve arboreal cameras at different survey locations over two years. We needed to train the teams to operate safely and independently (without an instructor present) in very remote areas. 

To train them sufficiently, my husband and I spent 1 month in Cameroon with the field team. We did a few days of basic training at a location near the city and then went with them on their initial camera deployment where we continued field training for 2.5 - 3 weeks. Before going to Cameroon, we had several discussions to determine what climbing method and equipment would best meet their data collection goals and were appropriate for their field site and conditions. We taught them basic rescue scenarios. We also set a climbing practice schedule for the team to maintain their climbing and rescue skills. We strongly emphasized to their management that the field team needed access to the climbing gear and needed to follow the practice schedule. Since the training, the team successfully finished two other camera trap surveys and is planning their third.

This was a lot of up-front training and cost. However, these climbers are now operating on their own and can continue operating for the foreseeable future. I think a big reason is receiving extensive training, tailored to their needs. General tree-climbing courses are great for learning the basics, but they'll never be a substitute for in-field, tailored training.

Thanks, Lampros! 

thanks kristy! super helpful list.

Thank you David, a phenomenal source!

Thank you for the comments. The app is not made available on the app or google store yet. It is applicable on android systems and does not need a high level skill to operate however one would need to be taught how to use the app and make meaning of the data. 

Yes, thank you!

That's great, we are in no hurry since this would be for next year's reproduction season. We would also be interested in the Ai that you mention if it's able to detect big size birds (working with the southern ground hornbill). That way the camera would trigger whenever the parents enter the nestbox. I asked a little bit and solar panels shouldn't be an issue. But to explain it in a more detailed way (exactly what will be need it, which camereas can be paired with the program, anything else relevant, etc) maybe we could keep the conversation through email: quimagell@hotmail.com

Im trying to explain everything to my bosses and would be great to know exactly what will be needed besaides solar panels and the camera (since this kind of technology is really new we might need some clear instructions and guidance, my knowlodge extens to CT and solar panels to power survillance cameras at nests but that would be it..). Thanks so much before hand!

Don't they all come from China ?

The one in the picture I can find on aliexpress for 2.53 euros.

I'm not sure how you would get one that doesn't come from China.

In any case, I know what to search for now, that's very helpful. Thank you.

What is the 1S thing you mention above ?

If you have any links as to what you consider a high quality one that would be great!