A project known as Dronecoria has created this open source drone to enable low-cost, automated reforestation of impoverished sites around the world. For more information and details of the open source instructions that have been released under Creative Commons license, checkout their website at http://dronecoria.org
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Discovering Rare Plants in Hawaii
Plant conservationists have discovered new populations of a species of plantain (Plantago princeps var. anomola) known locally as the Laukahi. The discovery was made during an aerial survey of the National Tropical Botanic Garden nature reserve, Limahuli, Hawaii, using an SUAV. The plant is listed as Critically Endangered under the IUCN Red List. Here is a short video.
Further details can be found here https://ntbg.org/news/rare-plant-discoveries?fbclid=IwAR0S2qi4aODadTt4UhwlKjr3I6_EkhlbdcCPHggBtBM37-TT6Ekb7P7mup0
Grey Heron Survey
Here is an interesting example of a project using a small SUAV to survey grey heron nests in the UK. Interestingly, this doesn’t appear to disturb the birds. This seems partly due to how close the drone gets and partly due to the use of a DJI Mavic Pro, which is quite a small, relatively quiet machine.
Further details can be found here: https://conservationdrones.org/2018/05/19/more-heron-nest-surveys/
AeroEcology Ltd 