Space4Nature

Space4Nature logo

Using satellites and AI to map habitats

 

This three-year project - made possible thanks to players of People's Postcode Lottery - sees the University of Surrey and Surrey Wildlife Trust working in partnership with Buglife and the Painshill Park Trust. The team has enlisted the help of the public to inform their work in the newly emerging field of Earth Observation – combining satellite technology and artificial intelligence – to monitor and improve wildlife habitats.

Interested in getting involved with the Space4Nature project? Register below and we'll be in touch as soon as possible. 

Register your interest

Project updates

Watch our Space4Nature videos to learn more about the project.

Training Volunteers

Surrey Wildlife Trust's Citizen Science Officer Daniel Banks trains a group of volunteers on mapping a heathland site.

Mapping using Machine Learning

Professor Richard Murphy and Dr Ana Andries demonstrate how machine learning, mapping and very high resolution satellite imagery are used to support the project.

Mapping Habitat on Puttenham Common

Citizen Science Officer Daniel Banks and Research and Monitoring Manager Ben Siggery are joined by Molly Biddell from the Hampton Estate. Along with a group of volunteers, they map the habitat on a section of heathland on Puttenham Common.

Palaeoecology Research at Chobham Common

How wildlife rich should Surrey be in the absence of contemporary human influence? For his PhD, Ben Siggery is carrying out palaeoecological research (the study of interactions between organisms & their environment through time) to inform our habitat restoration targets, alongside Space4Nature satellite technology to track progress.

Space for Nature

HALO Hub

The Habitat And Land Observation (HALO) hub is a place for researchers, practitioners, and those undertaking commercial innovation in the sector. It is a forum to share research, projects, events, and discussion related to the use of technology in monitoring and supporting UK nature recovery.

The HALO hub specialises in satellite and land observation techniques including use of high-resolution satellite imagery, UAV/drones and bio-acoustics for informing and monitoring habitat restoration across the UK.

Join, discover and discuss! Create an account to be a part of the network, add relevant resources, take part in discussion and create a place for shared learning for the development of nature recovery in the UK.

Visit the hub
BLines

B-Lines

"B-Lines are a series of ‘insect pathways’ running through our countryside and towns, along which we are restoring and creating a series of wildflower-rich habitat stepping stones." - Buglife UK

Buglife’s B-Lines initiative is the world’s largest co-ordinated solution to habitat fragmentation and loss. Composed of mapped 3km wide belts joining the best remaining areas for nature across the UK, Buglife aims to fill these B-Lines with permanent wildflower-rich habitat to reconnect our landscapes for wildlife.

The Space4Nature project is the first project to begin reconnecting Surrey’s B-Line, with over 30 hectares of wildflower-rich habitat to be delivered as part of the project. The satellite mapping technology Space4Nature is developing will address one of the foremost challenges Buglife face by providing a complete picture of habitats at a landscape scale.

View the map

News & Blogs

Keep up to date with the latest project news and developments, including blogs from Project Manager Andrew Jamieson and Space4Nature PhD student Ben Siggery.

Buglife, University of Surrey & Painshill Park logos
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