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. Former Community Councilor of the Gathering for Open Science Hardware.



- 4 Resources
- 25 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
- 5 Discussions
- 4 Groups
No showcases have been added to this group yet.


- 0 Resources
- 2 Discussions
- 8 Groups
- @srankin
- | she/her
NOAA Fisheries
Bioacoustics researcher with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
- 0 Resources
- 2 Discussions
- 16 Groups
Software engineer working on natural resource management technology.
- 0 Resources
- 3 Discussions
- 6 Groups
My research focuses on using Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) to study endangered species, including carnivores, chiropterans (bats), and lizards, as well as their microbiomes.
- 1 Resources
- 4 Discussions
- 19 Groups
Co-creator of an Andean forest RNSC in the Colombian Andes

- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 2 Groups
- @georg_strunck
- | he/him
Delft University of Technology & SPOTS | Strategic Protection Of Threatened Species
MSc Student in Aerospace/Robotics @TU_Delft | Engineer & Project Manager @StrategicProtectionOfThreatenedSpecies (SPOTS) | Robotics Engineer @BiodivX with @ETH Zürich for the xPrize rainforest competition

- 1 Resources
- 9 Discussions
- 10 Groups
- @KB
- | she/her
Wildlife ecologist specializing in animal movement modeling and habitat selection with a strong interest in conservation policy and management decisions.
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 17 Groups
Cardiff University
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 3 Groups
Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
Project leader of MoveApps | Movement ecology

- 1 Resources
- 5 Discussions
- 5 Groups
Data Scientist
- 0 Resources
- 8 Discussions
- 12 Groups
- @Valluc
- | he/him
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 4 Groups
- @Britneecheney
- | her/she
My name is Britnee Cheney. I am a keeper and trainer for three North American River Otters at an aquarium in Utah. I have recently started a conservation program for this species in the wild and am looking for resources and mentors to help me with my camera trapping.


- 0 Resources
- 13 Discussions
- 7 Groups
The Marine Innovation Lab for Leading-edge Oceanography develops hardware and software to expand the ocean observing network and for the sustainable management of natural resources. For Fall 2026, we are actively...
24 July 2025
Lead a growing non-profit to sustain open source solutions for open science!
19 July 2025
In this case, you’ll explore how the BoutScout project is improving avian behavioural research through deep learning—without relying on images or video. By combining dataloggers, open-source hardware, and a powerful...
24 June 2025
Weeds, by definition, are plants in the wrong place but Weed-AI is helping put weed image data in the right place. Weed-AI is an open source, searchable, weeds image data platform designed to facilitate the research and...
7 May 2025
Bringing you the latest in open-source technology for agriculture. This accompanies the Open Source Agriculture respository: Collating all open-source datasets, software tools and deployment platforms related to open-...
1 May 2025
Repository for all things open-source in agricultural technology (agritech) development by Guy Coleman. This accompanies the OpenSourceAg newsletter. Aiming to collate all open-source datasets and projects in agtech...
1 May 2025
Fires in Serengeti and Masai Mara National Parks have burned massive areas this year. With Google Earth Engine, it's possible to quantify burn severity using the normalized burn ratio function, then calculate the total...
29 April 2025
Conservation International is proud to announce the launch of the Nature Tech for Biodiversity Sector Map, developed in partnership with the Nature Tech Collective!
1 April 2025
Modern GIS is open technology, scalable, and interoperable. How do you implement it? [Header image: kepler.gl]
12 March 2025
Join the FathomNet Kaggle Competition to show us how you would develop a model that can accurately classify varying taxonomic ranks!
4 March 2025
Last month, we spent four days trekking through Cerro Hoya National Park in Panama, where we hiked from near sea level up to the cloud forest to deploy Mothboxes.
14 February 2025
August 2025
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Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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Thanks so much!! |
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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 10 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... |
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Open Source Solutions | 3 years 1 month 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... |
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Marine Conservation, Open Source Solutions | 3 years 1 month ago | |
Hey all!I'm well into my journey into the field of conservation now, after volunteering and freelancing for a couple of different... |
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Animal Movement, Community Base, Open Source Solutions | 3 years 1 month ago | |
Dear Community,Together with Hackster.io, Seeed Studio is very happy to jointly organize “IoT Into the Wild Contest for Sustainable Plant... |
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AI for Conservation, Connectivity, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions, Sensors | 3 years 2 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... |
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Community Base, Open Source Solutions | 3 years 3 months 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,... |
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Open Source Solutions | 3 years 4 months ago | |
The Gathering for Open Science Hardware (GOSH) has opened its second round of regional events funding! This program is perfect for groups... |
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Community Base, Open Source Solutions | 3 years 5 months ago | |
At IUCN, we are collecting examples of best practices and case studies of tech use in and around protected and conserved... |
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Open Source Solutions | 3 years 5 months ago | |
Hi Wildlabbers! Tomorrow Shah Selbe will be our Tech Tutor and guide us through how to turn an innovative conservation tech... |
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Open Source Solutions, Sensors | 3 years 9 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... |
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Open Source Solutions | 4 years 3 months 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... |
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Open Source Solutions | 4 years 3 months ago |
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
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?
Software to aid acoustic sound files visualization/labelling + Software to syncronize video/acoustic sonograms
23 September 2022 1:01pm
8 October 2022 12:44am
I would also recommend Arbimon. It is well set up to handle Audiomoth recordings. Being cloud based, you will need a good internet connection for sound file upload. I'm just starting to investigate its use for Song Scope recordings. Setting up the call recognisers will be a slow process, but they can be made available to all users once done.
8 October 2022 7:33am
You could try using a video editor like DaVinci for looking at your video and audio together. I don't think DaVinci displays sonograms by default (just waveform) but I think it will open your selected audio in an external editor which would allow you to see the sonograms and make measurements with something like Audacity or Kaleidoscope.
20 October 2022 11:01am
The open-source program Audacity can show the spectrograms and histograms and has quite a lot of other useful features, e.g. playing ultrasound calls slower, so it can be heard by people.
Open-source Argos satellite tag for bears - available now
7 October 2022 4:49pm
9 October 2022 5:14am
Oh, that looks so good, and some heavy hitting design firms too!
Conservation Tech Directory - new update!
29 August 2022 2:38pm
23 September 2022 5:26pm
Congrats on the milestone Carly and Gracie!
26 September 2022 10:07pm
Thanks so much!!
Ecological Forecasting Initiative's data analysis webinar series
26 September 2022 6:50pm
Crypto funding for ecosystem and conservation science
8 September 2022 1:48pm
How To Use An Arduino – Beginners Guide
1 September 2022 10:02pm
Conservation Technology Research Internship
26 August 2022 4:58pm
28 March 2023 9:37pm
Have you considered Arduinos?