The benefits that drones offer the fields of environmental monitoring and conservation are being realised by an ever-increasing number of researchers, students and environmental engineers. Drones (or UAVs/UAS) offer quick, easy and cost-effective insights, on demand. Their application meanwhile varies widely, from glacial modelling to coastal erosion tracking, species identification and population assessments.

With drone technology, Environmental Works can deploy drone pilots to the spill site once an hour, once a day, or once a week. Our pilots can then capture real-time images of the spill. This may help you create a time lapse as the spill travels down the river. This, in turn, helps you create a more robust remediation plan to ensure you protect the river area from further damage. Drones are an excellent resource in other use cases as well, including railroad monitoring and tank inspections, requiring fewer personnel hours and delivering high-quality photos for further inspection.

Technological advances have provided many benefits for environmental research. Sensors on southern elephant seals have been used to map the Southern Ocean, while tracking devices have given us a new view of mass animal migrations, from birds to zebras.

Miniaturisation of electronics and improvements in reliability and affordability mean that consumer drones (also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs) are now improving scientific research in a host of areas. And they are growing more popular for wildlife management, as well as research.

Wildlife drones can be used in many different ways, from small multi-rotor units that can scare invasive birds away from crops, to fixed-wing aircraft that fly above rainforests to spot orangutan nests. UAVs have also been shown to provide more precise data than traditional ground-based techniques when it comes to monitoring seabird colonies.