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Terra is hoping to revolutionise the way we connect to and conserve nature by creating one of the “largest community science projects” of all time. The small, weatherproof device can be placed in your garden, and contains a set of microphones as well as a radio receiver for radio-tagged birds.
By using the app, you can connect Terra to your phone or bluetooth speakers and listen to the world outside your windows. And you can also learn about the birds and wildlife in your garden through the app, even when you’re not listening. Or, you can listen live to wild places like waterfalls, oceans, rainforests and savannahs – wherever you are.
The idea of Terra was conceived more than 10 years ago by Mike Lanzone. Mike has extensive experience with bird banding and tracking, and saw the need to track migration more accurately. He realised that by listening to migrating birds and recording the sounds they make in flight, he was able to accurately measure both their number and diversity.
Multiple Terras become an “incredibly powerful conservation tool” says Terra’s project lead, Scott Whittle.
“For the first time, that network will be able to track entire populations of wildlife (starting with birds), rather than extrapolate data from individuals that have been tagged or banded,” says Scott. “This will massively improve the accuracy of our data, and give conservationists a new tool to react to wildlife threats in real time.”
At the same time, says Scott, Terra will build a new community of environmentally-grounded people, who will learn about and connect to their local birds and animals. “By listening to the outdoors, people will not only benefit their health and wellbeing, but also gain an intimate knowledge of the nature around them,” he adds.
In the past 50 years, there’s been a 30% drop in bird populations in the United States. “Conservation has never been more critical,” says Scott. “Terra will give researchers a whole new set of data which can be leveraged to achieve conservation goals.
“For example, by accurately monitoring populations in real time, Terra allows us to see changes that might indicate issues with habitat quality, pesticides, local government actions, etc, and then address those specific issues directly. It also adds a new layer of data to existing research projects, and will synergize with them to see the natural world in a new and more detailed way.”
Terra recently finished a successful Kickstarter campaign which raised $280,000 with over 1,300 backers. “It wasn’t easy, and we’re not done,” says Scott. “But it was a great start to our project. The main components that we used were Facebook ads, a widespread mailing campaign and newsletter, and reaching out to all our personal contacts in the birding community who have a natural interest in Terra.”
Scott says it took about six months to create all the assets they needed for a successful campaign – including a website, a well-crafted Kickstarter page, promotional videos, Facebook ads, consolidated mailing lists, promotional materials, logos and other graphic assets, and an overall strategy.
At this point, Terra is in the prototype to production stage, and the devices will be available around mid-2022. Find out more on the Kickstarter campaign.
Could you make this happen in your community? Be part of the change. Or, if you, or someone you know, has launched a crowdfunding social enterprise project, email [email protected].
