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. 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.
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
- @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
- 5 Discussions
- 5 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 5 Discussions
- 8 Groups
- @stefan_istrate
- | he/him
Machine Learning Researcher & Nature Photographer. Building conservation tech for biodiversity monitoring at Wildlife Insights.
- 0 Resources
- 5 Discussions
- 9 Groups
Welfare and Wildlife Conservation Data Scientist
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 7 Groups
- @MattyD797
- | He/Him
PhD Student | Cornell University | Smithsonian Institution; My focus is in computational ecology within fishery acoustics
- 0 Resources
- 16 Discussions
- 12 Groups
- @JackEdney
- | He/Him
Machine Learning Engineer specialised in computer vision and a passion for conservation and rebuilding.
- 1 Resources
- 1 Discussions
- 5 Groups
- @bellariskytaa
- | Her
Hi, I am Bella R. Arinda, a GIS Specialist passionate about conservation and community empowerment. Graduating with a degree in Geodetic Engineering gave me a strong foundation in GIS and remote sensing. I made the leap from engineering to conservation, dedicating myself to using
- 0 Resources
- 2 Discussions
- 7 Groups
Article
September 2024 OSS paper round-up
Amanda Matthes
In this instalment: BioSense for environmental sensing, a UV data logger, KRILLSCAN for estimating krill biomass and more!
3 October 2024
Article
Project Spotlight: SnapperGPS
Brianna Johns
SnapperGPS is an open source GNSS receiver for non-real-time wildlife tracking. Learn more about the project below!
1 October 2024
Article
August 2024 OSS paper round-up
Amanda Matthes
In this instalment: HyperCoast for hyperspectral data, Fluxbot 2.0 for soil CO2 flux sensing, BirdVoxDetect for identifying bird calls, snipit for single nucleotide polymorphism visualisation and more!
15 September 2024
Article
Project Spotlight: OpenFlexure Microscope
Brianna Johns
The OpenFlexure Microscope is a low-cost, open source, and customizable microscope used worldwide. Find out more about the project and its benefits to conservation and ecology research in this post!
22 August 2024
Article
Join us in celebrating this year’s Judging Panele Award winners!
19 August 2024
Article
Join us in celebrating this year’s Community Choice Award winners!
15 August 2024
Article
Vote for your favorite submissions that best demonstrate conservation impact, novel innovation/discovery, and strong storytelling of the work and the sector.
12 August 2024
Article
July 2024 OSS paper round-up
Amanda Matthes
In this instalment: ExMove for handling animal tracking data, HawkEar for spying on animals using cameras on birds, Pytorch-wildlife for species recognition and more!
11 August 2024
Article
Open Source Solutions Announcement: Introducing New OSS Group Leaders
Brianna Johns and 2 more
We are thrilled to welcome our 3 new Group Leaders for the 2024-2025 term, Bri Johns, Amanda Matthes, and Pen-Yuan Hsing!
8 August 2024
Careers
We are recruiting an (extendable) 2-year postdoc in my group to develop new technologies (cameras, microphones, deep learning, etc) to track earthworm activity in the field.
16 July 2024
Link
Keele University - KTP position
Claire Painton
Hi everyone - I wanted to share a fantastic opportunity at Keele University for a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) position with Arribada Initiative: to be responsible for developing and writing embedded software to...
8 July 2024
August 2025
event
Louisa Richmond-Coggan
September 2025
event
Louisa Richmond-Coggan
event
Louisa Richmond-Coggan
October 2025
event
Lacey Hughey and 3 more
November 2023
| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congratulations! My first hydromoth was just arrived yesterday and so excited! Looking forward for the update from your project!!! |
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Acoustics, Animal Movement, Climate Change, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions, Protected Area Management Tools, Sensors, Software Development, Latin America Community | 1 year 3 months ago | |
| Hi @zhongqimiao ,Might you have faced such an issue while using mega detectorThe conflict is caused by:pytorchwildlife 1.0.2.13 depends on torch==1.10.1pytorchwildlife 1.0.2.12... |
+6
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Open Source Solutions | 1 year 3 months ago | |
| Hi, this is pretty interesting to me. I plan to fly a drone over wild areas and look for invasive species incursions. So feral hogs are especially bad, but in the Everglades there... |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Open Source Solutions, Software Development | 1 year 3 months ago | |
| Gotcha, well I look forward to seeing future iterations and following along with your progress!! |
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Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, AI for Conservation, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions, Latin America Community | 1 year 3 months ago | |
| 'Most importantly, we have to make it play a MIDI version of the DoctorWho theme song when you arm the device. That has to be the #1 feature if you ask me!' Seconded! |
+9
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Acoustics, Animal Movement, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions, Sensors | 1 year 4 months ago | |
| Hi Danilo. you seem very passionate about this initiative which is a good start.It is an interesting coincidence that I am starting another project for the coral reefs in the... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Camera Traps, Citizen Science, Climate Change, Community Base, Connectivity, Drones, Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Coexistence, Open Source Solutions, Sensors, Software Development, Wildlife Crime, Funding and Finance | 1 year 6 months ago | |
| I would recommend going with Ubiquity 2.4Ghz devices which have performed relatively well in dense foliage of the California Redwood forests. It took a lot of tweaking to... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Connectivity, Open Source Solutions | 1 year 6 months ago | |
| Fire detection is a sort of broad idea. Usually people detect the products of fire, and most often this is smoke.Many home fire detectors in the US use a radioactive source... |
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Community Base, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Human-Wildlife Coexistence, Open Source Solutions, Protected Area Management Tools, Sensors, Wildlife Crime | 1 year 6 months ago | |
| Super cool! thank you for sharing! |
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Animal Movement, Open Source Solutions | 1 year 6 months ago | |
| Hi folks! Happy 2024 and thanks in advance for your patience in case I over-used tags. If you’re using any form of natural language... |
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AI for Conservation, Citizen Science, Climate Change, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools, Early Career, East Africa Community, Emerging Tech, Ending Wildlife Trafficking Online, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Human-Wildlife Coexistence, Open Source Solutions, Software Development, Wildlife Crime, Women in Conservation Tech Programme (WiCT) | 1 year 7 months ago | |
| This was one of my all time favourite Variety Hour talks! @wschan gave us an awesome walk through the open-source low cost acceleratometer... |
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Animal Movement, Open Source Solutions, Sensors | 1 year 10 months ago | |
| ooh very cool Salman! Amazing how much tracking devices have come down in price over the years and LoRa/LoRawan is just such a perfect fit for GPS data. Thanks heaps for sharing.... |
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Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Open Source Solutions | 1 year 11 months ago |
