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 & Fauna & Flora
I am the WILDLABS East Africa Conservation Technology Coordinator
- 101 Resources
- 31 Discussions
- 4 Groups
The Earth Species Project (ESP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to decoding animal communication and translating non-human language.
15 July 2022
In an effort to sustainably supply clean water within the conservancy, Ol Pejeta has installed Hydropanels; a water technology that utilizes solar energy to extract clean, pollutant-free drinking water from the...
29 June 2022
In May, we kicked off the six month Women in Conservation Tech programme with our first in-person workshop. This was a jam-packed week of technical training, field activities, professional development and empowerment...
14 June 2022
Baotree addresses the challenge of data collection at the grassroots level; to ensure participatory, accurate and verifiable data is captured. A software piloted in Kenya and looking to scale globally, Baotree has so...
9 June 2022
Giraffe Conservation Foundation is seeking a Conservation Science Data Specialist, with a background in Computer sciences or Natural sciences, to assist with the day-to-day management and analysis of data to advance...
17 May 2022
On 3rd November 2021, Earthranger Announced Giraffe Conservation Foundation and Lion Guardians as the inaugral Conservation Tech Award Recipients. The two organizations are Harnessing the Power of Technology to Protect...
3 November 2021
In their three-part interview from our new series Technical Difficulties, Colby Loucks and Eric Becker share the failures they've encountered and learned from throughout six years of working on the WWF-US Wildlife Crime...
27 October 2021
This article explores the use of IoT and Machine Learning Technologies in Ewaso Nyiro River, Kenya - which serves several communities as well as wildlife in Olpejeta Conservancy and Lewa Conservancy, among others. Data...
21 October 2021
This article outlines how acoustic monitoring of bird species provides a means to study ecosystems with minimal disturbance and over wide areas. Birds are excellent indicator species, therefore, monitoring their trend...
21 October 2021
In his contribution to the Technical Difficulties Editorial Series, Internet of Elephants founder Gautam Shah shares the lessons learned from challenges throughout his unique career path as an entrepreneur working and...
14 October 2021
In Alina Peter's and Kristen Snyder's contribution to the Technical Difficulties Editorial Series, you'll receive a practical checklist of factors and questions to consider at various stages of your conservation...
13 October 2021
Read our interview with early career conservationist and CLP Future Conservationist Award recipient Owino Raymond, who is working with camera traps along the Kenya-Somalia border to understand and reduce conflict...
21 May 2021
June 2024
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October 2024
November 2023
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Jamii Tech Program 2024, Tanzania
10 January 2024 11:12am
Presentation opportunity: Text analysis for conservation (NACCB 2024)
8 January 2024 4:05pm
WICT2022: Bridging Gaps, Shaping Women in Global Conservation.
31 December 2023 2:03pm
Foraging behavior of the Vulnerable Somali Ostrich in Northern Kenya
22 December 2023 9:05am
Master Project Collaboration/Ideas!
4 November 2023 10:37pm
4 November 2023 10:58pm
My email address: [email protected]
14 December 2023 9:35pm
Hi Zach,
Our organization (SEE Turtles) has a campaign working on the illegal tortoiseshell trade around the world called Too Rare To Wear. We are going to be updating our Global Tortoiseshell Report next year and one of the gaps we have in data is in China, where the illegal trade is now happening most frequently on platforms like WeChat.
We'd be interested in discussing with you if interested in how we might be able to gather some data on this trade in the country. I'm including a couple of links below about the program and the last report and will reach out by email.
-Brad
Too Rare To Wear — SEE Turtles
Too Rare To Wear is a campaign that aims to end demand for tortoiseshell products around the world.
SEE TurtlesTurtleshell Research — SEE Turtles
Too Rare To Wear has published two reports on the global tortoiseshell trade. Learn more about this trade and where it is happening.
SEE TurtlesData Viz Inspo for the Holidays
11 December 2023 8:42pm
Holistic, Ethical & Community-led Human-Wildlife Conflict Solutions with Gabriela Fleury
8 December 2023 1:38pm
My Experience and Takeaways at the 1st WildlifeScientific Conference
1 December 2023 4:42pm
Conservation of Kikuyu Escarpment Forest
1 December 2023 12:38pm
Impacts of Rhino Fence on other Wildlife Species
1 December 2023 9:25am
PhD Position- Nottingham Trent University UK
1 December 2023 7:13am
Into the Underwater Savanna: BRUV Surveys In Seagrass Beds
30 November 2023 6:12pm
Conservation of endangered birds in Kenya
30 November 2023 12:57pm
21 December 2023 4:48am
21 December 2023 9:32am
Paving the Way for Women: LoRaWAN Technology in Akagera National Park with Clementine Uwamahoro
29 November 2023 5:22pm
Feeding the Curiosity: A Closer Lookat Acacia xanthophloea's Shifting Defenses
28 November 2023 2:26pm
2 December 2023 9:16am
ICOTEQ launch TAGRANGER® system of products
23 November 2023 1:25pm
WWF Education for Nature 2024 Fellowships and Grants Info Session
21 November 2023 2:40pm
WWF's Education for Nature Fellowships and Grants are now open
21 November 2023 2:37pm
Eliminatha, WiCT 2023 Tanzania
21 November 2023 1:09pm
Passionate wildlife researcher and tech user, making strides in Grumeti, the heart of western Serengeti,Tanzania, using Camera Traps to gain priceless insights into the lives of this unique fauna and contributing greatly to understanding and preserving the Serengeti's ecosystems.
Catch up with The Variety Hour: November 2023
16 November 2023 12:59pm
Making Progress: The Women in Conservation Technology Programme, Kenya
14 November 2023 6:53pm
Volunteering at Kijabe Environment Volunteers (KENVO)
14 November 2023 6:52pm
Awarded the prestigious Chevening Scholarship Award to Study MSc Conservation Biology
14 November 2023 6:51pm
Documenting the Birds of Lewa-Borana Landscape
14 November 2023 6:50pm
Researching on the Electric Rhino Fence Effects on other Wildlife Species in Loisaba Conservancy
14 November 2023 6:49pm
Citizen Science as a Tool to Enhance Biodiversity Conservation in the Tana River Primate National Reserve (TRPNR)
14 November 2023 6:48pm
Researching Seagrass Habitats Along the Kenyan Coast
14 November 2023 6:47pm
Game Changing Research Equipment for Masters Project
14 November 2023 6:47pm
Adaptable Defenses: How Yellow Fever (Acacia Xanthophloea) Trees Respond to Pressure from Herbivores
14 November 2023 6:46pm
Creating Awareness on Bushmeat Offences Using Local Barazas and SMS
14 November 2023 6:44pm
22 December 2023 11:17am