Group curators
Pen-Yuan Hsing
- @Nycticebus_scientia
- | he/they
MammalWeb.org
Amanda Matthes
Brianna Johns
- @briannajohns
- | she/they
Gathering for Open Science Hardware (GOSH)
Despite critical advancements in the tech solutions available to conservationists worldwide, many existing tools are cost-prohibitive in the landscapes that need them most. Additionally, those who create low-cost and open-source alternatives to pricey market tech often operate on tight budgets themselves, meaning they need more resources to promote their solutions to a broader market. We need increased communication around these solutions to highlight their availability, share lessons learned in their creation, and avoid duplication of efforts.
This group is a place to share low-cost, open-source devices for conservation; describe how they are used, including what needs they are addressing and how they fit into the wider conservation tech market; identify the obstacles in advancing the capacity of these technologies; and to discuss the future of these solutions, particularly their sustainability and how best to collaborate moving forward. We welcome contributions from both makers and users, whether active or prospective.
Here is how we see the current OSS space and how this group plans to change it by supporting both makers and users:
Many users do not appreciate the significant benefits of open-source tech. This group will educate users about the advantages and the need for open-source tech, specifically in the context of ecology work. We achieve this by stimulating regular discussions on the forum and by encouraging and supporting users to use open-source tools wherever possible.
Building OSS can be difficult. We want to support both established and potential makers who wish to develop OSS. The OSS group is a place where makers can find funding opportunities, ask current and potential users questions, and share their technologies.
Using OSS can be difficult. We also want to support adopters of OSS tech. We do this by offering a place for users to share challenges they face and crowdsource advice on things like technology choice or technical support.
Makers do not know what users want or need. The OSS group is a place that facilitates conversations between makers and users. This will give users a voice and ensure that makers are aware of the needs of users, enabling them to build better solutions.
The community is small and scattered. We want to grow an inclusive community of OSS practitioners. Our goal is to become the go-to place for discussions on the topic where people feel a sense of belonging.
Resources for getting started
- How do I use open source remote sensing data in Google Earth Engine? | Tech Tutors
- How do I use open source remote sensing data to monitor fishing? | Tech Tutors
- Low Cost, Open Source Solutions | Virtual Meetup
- What would an open source conservation technology toolkit look like? | Discussion
- December 2024 Open Source Solutions Community Call
Header image: Shawn F. McCracken
Group curators
- @Nycticebus_scientia
- | he/they
MammalWeb.org
Co-founded citizen science camera-trapping project with interest in developing 100% open source wildlife tech. Advocate for open science/open research. Community member of the Gathering for Open Science Hardware.
- 3 Resources
- 24 Discussions
- 3 Groups
trying to understand and improve the welfare of all animals that can suffer
- 4 Resources
- 6 Discussions
- 7 Groups
- @briannajohns
- | she/they
Gathering for Open Science Hardware (GOSH)
Interested in the application of open source technologies for conservation research.
- 9 Resources
- 4 Discussions
- 4 Groups
- 1 Resources
- 1 Discussions
- 11 Groups
- @tomipiriyev
- | mr
I am maker , passionate in electronics, developer of Loko offline GPS tracker
- 0 Resources
- 5 Discussions
- 6 Groups
- @MandyEyrich
- | She/Her
University of Florida (UF)
Bridging industries with 15+ years of cross-sector expertise specializing in user-centric technology and product strategy, UX research, UX/UI design, process optimization, and end-to-end agile product development moving from ideation to iteration.
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 27 Groups
A Wildlife Biologist interested in Environment Assessment and Restoration, In-situ and Ex-situ strategies, Technologies used in Conservation and Illegal Wildlife Trade.
- 0 Resources
- 16 Discussions
- 15 Groups
- @WyattB
- | He / him / his
Data science and ML specialist
- 0 Resources
- 2 Discussions
- 7 Groups
Co-creator of an Andean forest RNSC in the Colombian Andes
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 2 Groups
Data Scientist
- 0 Resources
- 7 Discussions
- 13 Groups
- @julianagc
- | she/her
With a background in biology, consulting, and education, I enjoy combining my many passions in applying ML and AI to biodiversity conservation.
- 1 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 6 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 6 Groups
EcoFirst
Biologist and naturalist involved in NGO's activities as well as profesionnally
- 0 Resources
- 1 Discussions
- 3 Groups
- @kbubnicki
- | he/his
Ecologist, data scientist, and programmer with over 13 years of professional experience. Open source and Linux enthusiast. Researcher at the Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, and CEO of the Open Science Conservation Fund.
- 0 Resources
- 4 Discussions
- 5 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 5 Discussions
- 8 Groups
Article
Listen in on our interview with Mara Elephant Project’s Tracking Manager, Wilson Sairowua, as he explains how MEP is using software, geofencing and drone technologies to resolve human-elephant conflict across Maasai...
20 October 2023
Careers
Mobile App. Developer / Gibbon Research
Kyle Winney
Can you create an ecological data collection application on Android for Gibbon and Biodiversity Research. Check out this opportunity with us!
24 August 2023
Article
New Add-ons for Mbaza AI
Marundu Muturi
At Appsilon, we are always working to enable our users to get the most out of our solutions. With this in mind, we are happy to introduce two new add-ons to Mbaza AI.
4 July 2023
Article
Sustained Effort: The Environmentalist’s Dilemma
Jacinta Plucinski
In this article from Jacinta Plucinski & Akiba of Freaklabs, they share advice on organising your thoughts around building short-term and long-term sustainability considerations into your conservation technology...
21 June 2023
Careers
PhD opportunity aims at developing novel imaging methods and deep learning algorithms to describe and classify earthworms at Aarhus University.
21 June 2023
Funding
JICA, Japan’s International Cooperation Agency is seeking a digital partner with a proven track record in conservation technology as we launch a pilot project to test technologies to mitigate human-elephant conflict in...
19 June 2023
Careers
Wildlife Monitoring Engineer
Tom August
Permanent and Full Time role at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
8 June 2023
Article
In our first Conservation Tech Showcase case study, you'll learn about the innovative PantheraIDS, an open-source data management platform and analytical engine that processes, standardizes, and manages conservation-...
11 May 2023
Careers
Hardware Lead - Biodiversity / Conservation
Ben Williamson
New role at Pivotal Earth
4 April 2023
Link
$500 micro grants for open science events
Andrew Quitmeyer
The gathering for open science hardware is giving up grants for people putting on events that promote open science hardware A simple and free application! https://forum.openhardware.science/t/usd-500-microgrants-...
10 March 2023
Careers
Proposals wanted for Innovation in Practice
Ellie Warren
The Innovation in Practice edition of Methods in Ecology and Evolution is still seeking proposals about conservation technology
6 March 2023
May 2025
June 2025
event
Nalini
October 2025
event
Lacey Hughey and 3 more
April 2024
event
Wildlife Drones
March 2024
| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thanks so much!! |
|
Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Camera Traps, Community Base, Data management and processing tools, Drones, eDNA & Genomics, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions, Geospatial, Software Development | 2 years 7 months ago | |
| I've been working with a current visiting scholar who's from China and has been interested in getting started with some acoustic monitoring studies when he goes back to China... |
|
Open Source Solutions | 2 years 10 months ago | |
| If you're looking to identify collaborators - probably lots of organizations listed in the Conservation Tech Directory would be interested (quick prelim search yields orgs like... |
|
Marine Conservation, Open Source Solutions | 2 years 11 months ago | |
| Hey all!I'm well into my journey into the field of conservation now, after volunteering and freelancing for a couple of different... |
|
Animal Movement, Community Base, Open Source Solutions | 2 years 11 months ago | |
| Dear Community,Together with Hackster.io, Seeed Studio is very happy to jointly organize “IoT Into the Wild Contest for Sustainable Plant... |
|
AI for Conservation, Connectivity, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions, Sensors | 2 years 11 months ago | |
| There are only a few days left to apply to the 2022 Gathering for Open Science Hardware! Join a community of scientists, hardware developers, artists, and activists... |
|
Community Base, Open Source Solutions | 3 years ago | |
| We are excited to announce that the 2022 Gathering will be held in Panamá from October 26-29. Applications to attend are now open,... |
|
Open Source Solutions | 3 years 1 month ago | |
| The Gathering for Open Science Hardware (GOSH) has opened its second round of regional events funding! This program is perfect for groups... |
|
Community Base, Open Source Solutions | 3 years 2 months ago | |
| At IUCN, we are collecting examples of best practices and case studies of tech use in and around protected and conserved... |
|
Open Source Solutions | 3 years 2 months ago | |
| Hi Wildlabbers! Tomorrow Shah Selbe will be our Tech Tutor and guide us through how to turn an innovative conservation tech... |
|
Open Source Solutions, Sensors | 3 years 6 months ago | |
| Hi Akiba, Just found out from the marketing dept at my work the cost to host multiple specs - very expensive [$NZ 7K-10K]. Host it on GitHub for starters then. I... |
+18
|
Open Source Solutions | 4 years ago | |
| Amazingly nice offer! Thanks! I know how projects can sometimes be stressful. I had a bit of that feeling lately when having to figure out how to code a trap alarm my... |
|
Open Source Solutions | 4 years 1 month ago |
Making Waves: Open Hardware as a Solution to Scaling up Bycatch Mitigation
2 July 2023 11:24am
Sustained Effort: The Environmentalist’s Dilemma
21 June 2023 9:00am
PhD Position in Deep Learning for Biodiversity Monitoring: Custom Imaging Platform and Deep Learning to Classify and Phenotype Earthworms
21 June 2023 8:23am
Information Session: Technology Testing to Mitigate Human-Elephant Conflict in West Bengal
19 June 2023 11:07pm
Innovation wanted: Technology Testing to Mitigate Human-Elephant Conflict in West Bengal
19 June 2023 10:54pm
The Wildlife Society Conference
19 June 2023 5:59am
Wildlife Monitoring Engineer
8 June 2023 4:54pm
Panthera: Monitoring Wildlife with Open-Source Data Management Tools
11 May 2023 5:52pm
Call for survey participants (AI/ML practitioners)
19 April 2023 3:17pm
Global shortage of Raspberry Pis - What are the alternatives
3 November 2022 10:27am
29 March 2023 10:13am
UPDATE: The Banana Pi didnt work out for us as it was not possible to track back all the components and ensure that they were responsibly sourced. The Rock board did work for us and we were able to port our system onto this. We will be rolling out units using this over the summer. It also looks like Raspberry Pis are coming back on line and we were able to secure a bulk order for deliver mid-summer
29 March 2023 10:14am
Yes, but for our needs that are not powerful enough
$500 micro grants for open science events
10 March 2023 1:19pm
USD 500 microgrants available for workshops, short courses - #8 by ShamsJaber - General - GOSH Community Forum
Up to 20 microgrants of USD 500 are available to organisations to run STEM workshops or short courses, to be held by May 31 2023. Applications are accepted now until Saturday March 25. The goal of the workshops or shor…
Proposals wanted for Innovation in Practice
6 March 2023 10:34pm
Moveapps: EMAC23 Coding Challenge
3 March 2023 7:58am
3 March 2023 3:12pm
Super initiative! I hope you get a lot of entries to this coding challenge!
6 March 2023 7:53am
Thanks Lars! Look forward to any entries from you and your colleagues. If you have an questions or suggestions, let me know.
6 March 2023 1:11pm
Hi Andrea! Although I am a keen user and observer of the Moveapps initiative, my R or Python coding skills are next to non- existing. I am therefore not likely to be contributing this time... Some day perhaps ;)
USD500 available for your workshop
6 March 2023 1:30pm
Moveapps EMAC23 Coding Challenge – Participate now!
3 March 2023 7:45am
The Arbimon newsletter is back!
23 February 2023 11:34pm
Deep Sea BRUVS Development
28 January 2023 1:41am
11 February 2023 3:07am
Hi Titus,
If the usual syntactic foam sources aren't available, an option may be to add an empty dry housing or use a larger housing for the BRUV, just to provide the buoyancy.
You can make your own syntactic foam from glass microballoons and epoxy resin, but this will require experimentation and testing. For sub-surface buoyancy, you could also use a jerry can full of cooking oil, or a coil of polypropylene rope.
Hiring Full Stack Developer at Conservation X Labs
10 February 2023 5:35pm
Software Engineer
16 January 2023 12:26pm
New paper - Real-time alerts from AI-enabled camera traps using the Iridium satellite network: A case-study in Gabon, Central Africa
13 January 2023 12:12am
Otter video help!
5 September 2022 6:57pm
7 September 2022 6:12pm
Thank you for the response! I'm not sure how to find that out. It says MP4. Is that what you're looking for?
21 December 2022 7:46pm
Did you get any further with this Britnee?
26 December 2022 6:54pm
No, I was never able to figure out how to send these to anyone on here. I was hoping to learn how to clear these videos up if possible!
Join NASA’s harmful algal bloom ML challenge and win prizes!
15 December 2022 7:56pm
Junior Electrical Engineer (Hardware)
9 December 2022 5:04pm
Senior Software Engineer
9 December 2022 5:01pm
Senior Product & Production Manager (Maternity Cover)
9 December 2022 3:07pm
New: Satellites for Biodiversity Award
5 December 2022 2:08pm
MozFest 2023 call for proposals on Tech & Biodiversity
22 November 2022 11:10am
Picking up signal of GPS tag
10 November 2022 11:29am
16 November 2022 10:54am
Thanks Carly! I've been in awe of what Wildlife Drones is doing, but as you say my work at the moment is focussed on existing GPS units rather than telemetry for tracking. I'll still reach out & ask though. Thanks for your help! :)
16 November 2022 10:55am
Hi Kim! Thanks for sharing, this is really interesting! I'll check out the website & see what I can find out about the mechanics of the device. Thanks again!
21 November 2022 5:25pm
Hey Sol,
The only way for you to collect information from a GPS tag attached to a FAD is if that tag transmits that data to the drone. Unfortunately most receiver packages are a bit too large for hobbyist-style drones (from what I've seen).
Depending on the range/distance from shore, you might be able to have a shore-based receiver system?
28 March 2023 9:37pm
Have you considered Arduinos?