There are many people looking for jobs in nature conservation and there are many employers saying job applicants lack practical field based survey skills.  If you are doing, or have just done, a University degree or you are seeking to change career, then being able to demonstrate your practical skills in nature conservation to a future employer is essential. This 6-week part time, practical on-line/live Effective Camera Trapping course is designed to help you.Previous course participants have said:

We need a minimum number to sign up for the course each time we run it.  Should we not achieve this minimum you will be offered the next course dates: We run them approximately every 3 months.

Learners with a UK address will be sent a camera with batteries, a mounting strap, SD card and mounting bracket and an instruction manual.

If you are not in the UK, but would like to take part, please see the information below.

Everyone on the course will then be supported by LIVE online workshops (via Zoom) and additional learning materials while practicing and sharing results.

With a track record going back more than 20-years delivering nature conservation training courses, our experienced and supportive team empower participants to succeed.

We welcome course participants from anywhere in the world.  If you would like to join the course from outside the UK all you have to do is buy a Browning Recon Force Edge which is exactly the same camera we are using.  They are available from many outlets including NatureSpy.

You will also need a Better Trail Camera Holder like this one (click here) and some small wooden wedges (to support the camera when it is strapped to a tree)

Once you have these, you can then join in with the course.

Your camera must be exactly the same because all our learning materials are focused on this camera. You will also need to pay the full course fee.

Camera trapping is now widely used in wildlife monitoring.  It can determine if a particular species is present (with conservation or legal consequences) or it can be used to help with public engagement with nature.  Ecological consultants might use camera traps to see if a protected species is on a given site, nature conservation charities might use the technology to show the public what species are around on a nature reserve and biological records centres and national species surveys welcome the species records for their datasets.   Becoming an effective camera trapper means practicing nature detective field skills and getting to know how the technology works.  The aim of this course is to encourage you to develop these skills ready for a new job or as part of your existing/future role.

Before the start of the course UK participants will be sent a camera trap with some additional equipment to be used on the course.  We estimate you’ll need approximately c. 4-hours spread over each week to investigate the on-line learning materials, attend the live seminars and broadcasts (which will be after-office hours = 7pm (London time) on the Wednesday or each week) and undertake the tasks set during the week. When you do the 4- hours is entirely up to you.  The course is designed to be flexible so that you can fit it around work family commitments.

Week 1 – Welcome, try your camera indoors. Try your camera outdoors (still photos)

Week 2 – From stills to video and back again

Week 3 – Field signs and best locations for camera trapping

Week 4 – Consolidating your skills and exploring more options

Week 5 – Special methods

Week 6 – Final Q&As, certificate and recognition

We’ll send you a camera trap (on loan) and a first set of batteries. We’ll then walk you through setup, positioning and results analysis via a series of activities. All this will be supported by access to on-line training materials and live training broadcasts. This is a part-time 6-week course, allowing you to take your time to gain competence with these specialist professional skills, ready for a new job or to enhance your existing employment through continuing professional development.

You’ll then be able to demonstrate their skills by contributing data to a citizen science project and uploading examples of your wildlife pictures to on-line platforms.  This will lead to your course recognition and e-badge.

Once you have met the course learning outcomes and completed all the assignments you will have demonstrate your competence at using the camera trap and become an Effective Camera Trapper.

You will then gain an e-badge that will contain all the course information (learning outcomes, date, duration, training organisation) and a detailed description of our achievements. If you wish, you can then share the e-badge on social media and professional platforms and provide it to potential future employers.

You will need a computer (desktop or laptop) with an SD card reader and an internet connection. Previous participants have successful used tablets but these can present some challenges.  The learning materials are presented in a Moodle virtual learning environment to which you will have a personal login. You will also need a Facebook account to access our Live streams.

You’ll need access to a variety of secure outdoor spaces where you can leave your camera for a few days without significant worries about it being lost/stolen.  You will need to negotiate access to these spaces before the course begins. While we start the course by suggesting you use your garden, we move on to suggest using a local secure space, nature reserve or other potentially wildlife friendly area.

We ask you to cover the costs of postage when returning the camera and accompanying small items of equipment to us at the end of the course (approx. £10).  If you are in the UK and thinking of buying a camera please be aware that for a host of reasons (SD Card comes with pre-loaded photos, camera is set to specific modes) we will loan you one of our cameras anyway. If you decide to buy a camera before the course starts you can run two simultaneously, that’s fine.

If you have any specific question, please email Simon via info@ambios.net 

NEW YEARS SPECIAL OFFER: NOW ONLY £199

The cost of this course includes the loan of the camera and equipment.  You will be asked to sign a Declaration of Honour that you will return the camera and equipment in good order at the end of the course.

A course fee deposit payment now will secure your place.

Note: All fee income goes to support our nature conservation training and rewilding project on the Sharpham Estate, Devon, UK – we are a not-for-profit company.