Karibu to the WILDLABS East Africa Community!
Why WE Exist
After 7 years of strategically building the global WILDLABS community, it was now time for our team to venture into the next phase of our programme: creating regional virtual hubs. The very first regional hub to go live is the East Africa community, a space that will create opportunities for members to build their knowledge, skills, expertise and reach. The idea behind creating the EA community spanned from the need to foster connections and collaborations of conservation and technology players in EA as well as make a true positive impact by tailoring resources and opportunities that will help solve conservation challenges in the region. Learn more
All we do at WILDLABS is firmly grounded on the community we serve and hope to serve! As part of this commitment, time and resources have been dedicated to ensure that this platform will be a reliable and credible resource to advance one’s knowledge, skills and be a step towards solving some of the most pressing conservation issues WE face in East Africa.
WE exist to fulfill the needs of conservation technology players in East Africa through resources & opportunities, to add value to their work, to inspire innovation & collaboration and most importantly, to contribute towards making the world a better place!
What WE Hope To Achieve
Purposefully designed to connect conservation technology practitioners and experts based in East Africa, the WILDLABS EA community will be a great space to access and share conservation technology resources, ask and answer questions unique to the landscape, collaborate and generate new and innovative ideas.
This platform is a great space for members to collaboratively fill in regional conservation tech knowledge and skills gaps present and share their work and other resources, reducing and/or eliminating replication and leading to more streamlined and effective solutions. Through the conversations taking place within the community, members will be able to connect with each other and get advice to advance their work, careers, and innovative ideas.
The community hopes to encourage level interactions that will generate new ideas on solving regional conservation tech challenges, encourage innovation, introduce members to new applications of tech in conservation, as well as spark new questions on Conservation tech in EA.
How To Get Involved
Are you keen on getting involved and understanding the intersection of conservation and technology in East Africa? This community offers an exceptional space where you can join us and get involved; to learn, share, collaborate and support one another on matters regarding conservation technology in East Africa. From posting articles, engaging in discussions, attending virtual and in-person events to supporting, applying or taking part in Programmes and opportunities in the community, these are some of the ways for you to get involved.
The first thing you can do when joining our community is to jump into our welcome thread and introduce yourself to our community. Get started here
Resources
The WILDLABS team is dedicated to making conservation tech resources accessible to the whole community in a strategic and equitable manner. With a myriad of engaging events, programmes, weekly conversations and opportunities lined up, the East Africa community will be a great virtual place to build one’s skills, knowledge, and networks. Growing a vibrant and diverse community will be made possible by the collaborative efforts of all members through their interactions and their active participation in regional activities organized/supported by WILDLABS.
Some of the resources that will give you a feel of Conservation technology tools and systems implemented in East Africa include:
- Using IoT and Machine Learning to Protect Kenya's Rivers.
- Learning Resource: Exploring Species Interactions with Snapshot Serengeti.
- Mobile Phone Reporting for Rapid Wildlife Health Response in Uganda
Members of the East Africa community are invited to share their projects, organizations, experiences, failures, and ideas in their Conservation Tech work, to support the development of tools that will form part of the resources made available to other members.
Programmes
Women in Conservation Technology Programme
With a cohort of 15 talented and emerging female conservationists, our inaugural Women in Conservation Technology Programme, is the first of many Programmes organized for the community. WILDLABS, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, and Fauna & Flora International partnered to run this programme as the very first opportunity organized for the East Africa community.
This programme is designed for early career Kenyan women in conservation who are looking to explore emerging conservation technologies. In addition to in-person and virtual training on foundational skills and knowledge on conservation technologies to overcome conservation and wildlife challenges in Kenya, participants have an opportunity to network with a strong cohort of other women leaders in the field and gain professional development skills. Through this unique blend of training and networking, we hope to empower Kenyan women in conservation who are often underrepresented in the sector. It is an avenue to encourage the group to generate innovative ideas, novel solutions, and diverse perspectives that engender conservation success.
We received close to 200 outstanding applications for the Programme this year, and this reminded us of the collaborative conservation efforts, implemented through great projects running, exceptional conservation and technology organizations and visionary conservationists in East Africa. We hope to reach more conservation technologists to build their knowledge and skills through such trainings and capacity building Programmes.
'Women in Science are often underrepresented in Kenya. Intentionally creating this training Programme for Women in Conservation Technology goes a long way to show that well-thought out initiatives are currently being put in place to empower women in the field. This Programme will not only benefit me, but will be a motivation to upcoming Women in Conservation Technology.'~ Consolata Gathoni Gitau
With the knowledge and skills garnered from this programme, participants will be able to spread awareness of novel conservation technology solutions to their home organizations and empower other female conservationists. We believe that this Programme is a great strategic direction towards empowering early career female conservationists!
Events
From in-person and virtual events, this hub is a great place tailored for conservationists and technologists in East Africa to support each other in creating novel solutions to complex regional conservation challenges. The East Africa community will be part of already established virtual events such as Tech Tutors and Virtual meetups, where topics covered will answer questions related to conservation challenges unique to East Africa. The virtual events will bring together members and participants to learn new skills, get expert advice, ask questions, gain knowledge and foster existing knowledge and skills.
The East Africa community exists because of each of you, and we hope you are happy to join and use the platform for knowledge sharing, collaboration and networking. You can join the community and interact with other members here. To get in touch with Netty Cheruto, our WILDLABS East Africa Community Coordinator, email her at: [email protected].
Header Image: @Dylan Habil
Group curators
- @EstherGithinji
- | She/Her
WILDLABS
I am the WILDLABS East Africa Conservation Technology Coordinator
- 99 Resources
- 23 Discussions
- 4 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 1 Groups
- @Hassangollo2024
- | mr
social worker and Conservationist
- 0 Resources
- 1 Discussions
- 1 Groups
- @Jkavutha
- | Her/She
I am currently pursuing an MSc Conservation Biology at the University of Kent. My research interests are based around wildlife economies and how communities can be at the frontline to drive initiatives that promote sustainable livelihoods and safeguard wildlife habitats.
- 1 Resources
- 2 Discussions
- 5 Groups
Conservation technology enthusiast
- 0 Resources
- 3 Discussions
- 14 Groups
Project planet is working to mitigate conflict between farmers and forest elephants in Gabon, Central Africa.
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 3 Groups
Conservation Biologist; Research interest Human Dimensions on Wildlife Conservation and Conservation Tech
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 7 Groups
- @Benedicta
- | She
My name is Ninying Benedicta a PhD student under the Department of wildlife resource management in Cameroon. I love learning about wildlife and their habitats. I also love working with communities surrounding the forests, learning on Traditional Ecological Knowledge.
- 0 Resources
- 4 Discussions
- 4 Groups
I am conservation and sustainability researcher based in Tanzania with 15+ years of field work experience. I enjoy working, mentoring and engage youth in conservation efforts and using technology to enhance my work.
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 1 Groups
- @nicoboenisch
- | He / him / his
Co-Director FOS Europe, Conservation Strategist and Technical Advisor to the Miradi Software Team, Improving Conservation through Adaptive Management and Evidence-based Learning
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 8 Groups
I am a budding engineer doing Electrical and Telecommunications Engineering and I am passionate about innovation and technology and how I can use it to make an impact in society.
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 5 Groups
- @Brian_Gachiri
- | Him/His
Experienced Web and Mobile Application Developer with a passion for climate and environment conservation. I aim to have every keystroke a step toward a more sustainable and greener future. #TechForGood #EcoInnovation
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 1 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 3 Groups
June 2024
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October 2024
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September 2023
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Renew Capital launches Renew Venture Lab
19 July 2023 1:58pm
KCDF's Young Environmentalist Innovative Challenge Fund (YEIC)
19 July 2023 1:04pm
Discover Landsat data available through Digital Earth Africa
12 July 2023 7:30am
Landsat data is accessible to all users, regardless of your level of technical competency. The new ARD can be used to map and mitigate a number of challenges, such as monitoring rangelands which will help to preserve this essential terrain and could provide a key input for wildlife conservation efforts.
Visit Digital Earth Africa Docs for more information on Landsat Surface Reflectance and Landsat Surface Temperature. Digital Earth Africa provides a free self-paced training course, making Earth observation data accessible to problem-solvers worldwide.
Deadline Approaching: WE Africa Leadership Program 2024
7 July 2023 12:54pm
Africa Climate Week (ACW) 2023
6 July 2023 11:25am
Africa Climate Summit 2023
6 July 2023 10:37am
New Add-ons for Mbaza AI
4 July 2023 12:00pm
River Monitoring Sensors
6 June 2023 1:06pm
3 July 2023 4:05pm
Would you consider using LoRaWAN technology?
LoRaWAN features super low power consumption and ultra-long-range communication, very suitable for the wild :)
One LoRaWAN gateway can connect to up to 200 sensors within the range of 2km to 10km (depending on the environment and antenna etc.)
You can check out the combination of the following:
3 July 2023 6:18pm
Ben Letcher from the comment below will be able to provide much more in-depth info, but feel free to email me at [email protected]
Senior Wind Engineering Manager: CrossBoundary Energy
27 June 2023 1:10pm
Due Diligence Technical Specialist - Climate Impact Partners
27 June 2023 11:31am
Women in Conservation Technology, Tanzania: Unveiling Our Cohort
23 June 2023 2:13pm
The Wildlife Society Conference
19 June 2023 5:59am
GIS Application Specialist in Nairobi, DGB Group
15 June 2023 3:23pm
Apply for the Google for Startups Accelerator: Climate Change Middle East & Africa Program
9 June 2023 1:54pm
UNEP Executive Director - Inger Andersen's take on why African nations have the power & tools to re-design a plastic pollution-free future
5 June 2023 1:28pm
Inger Andersen, the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) explains how the innovative approaches towards curbing plastic pollution witnessed across African nations can help in pivoting to a plastics-free future through pioneering innovative manufacturing, packaging and design solutions.
This opinion first appeared in The Nation Africa
How lights help keep lions and livestock alive in Kenya
31 May 2023 3:31pm
Richard Turere from Kitengela, invents flashing lights to mitigate human wildlife conflict. He came up with “Lion Lights,” a system that deters predators such as lions from attacking livestock using flashing lights. Operating predominantly on solar energy, with the ability to harness wind power during cloudy weather or low sunlight, Turere’s invention provides a sustainable eco-friendly approach to conservation.
The Business of Conservation Conference 2023
17 May 2023 8:29am
How do I get started with collecting mobile digital data to combat Illegal Wildlife Trade?
16 May 2023 11:59pm
2023 F5 Tech for Good Grant Application Now Open
10 May 2023 12:28pm
How do I create an aerial survey flight plan for wildlife monitoring?
9 May 2023 9:24am
East Africa Programme Officer
9 May 2023 9:22am
GRO is the story of what on Earth is going on
5 May 2023 1:50pm
How do I get started with systematic reconnaissance flights (SRFs) for wildlife survey?
4 May 2023 11:00pm
Anti-poaching tech vulnerable to cyber attacks, study finds | ITWeb
26 April 2023 2:48pm
While tech deployment has often been hailed for playing a critical role in the fight against poaching, these technologies bring with them the risk of cyber attacks. This is based on a study conducted by Orange Cyberdefense Academy’s Christelle Steyn, as part of her thesis titled: “Towards a Critical Review of Cybersecurity Risks in Anti-Poaching Systems in South Africa”.
Any questions you'd like answered in our Tech Tutors session: 'How do I create an aerial survey flight plan for wildlife monitoring?'
26 April 2023 8:02am
Congo Basin activity?
30 March 2023 9:14pm
25 April 2023 5:08pm
greetings!
i sent you a PM regarding this, feel free to contact me however is most convenient for you -
regards,
chris
How do I get started with Bird Audio processing and classification?
17 April 2023 9:11am
How do I extract spatial data from EarthRanger to create maps on QGIS & ArcGIS Pro?
3 April 2023 12:35pm
In Review: The Women in Conservation Technology Programme, Kenya
3 April 2023 11:50am
Apply now: Women in Conservation Technology Programme, Tanzania
3 April 2023 10:31am
30 June 2023 7:05pm
Hi Kennedy, this is Ben from the USGS. There are many ways to monitor stream flow, but most are expensive and time-consuming. We have recently come up with an alternative that uses cameras and images combined with AI to estimate relative flow. There is a growing database here:
Feel free to get in touch if this seems like it could help, Ben at [email protected]