Drone’s!
I am not going to lie it took a little bit of time to realise that a drone is an actual tool and not a toy! Please refer to this picture!
My previous tool box consisted of stainless steel designed to injure, blind and incapacitate!
It took a meeting with a human of extraordinary capabilities to show this “dinosaur” that the battle for biodiversity, blue carbon, climate change and the planet cannot be won without sacrifice ha.
Chalong bay surveys!
I live in Phuket where drones are common place rarely is a beach visit not accompanied by the hum of a drone. Driven in general by drunk tourists or “influencer” entourage I have often contemplated throwing a flip flop at a drone!
Not only did the “Unicorn” (Valerie Cornet) allay my anguish she showed me how much can be accomplished with a small budget and bit of prior planning.
The “unicorn” and the “dinosaur”
I took my new found confidence back to Phuket, surveyed, learnt and enjoyed my droning. I experimented with several different surveying and orthomosaicing software IOS and android (not always legally).
And what I learnt is that the humble DJI Mini 2 is an effective, reasonably priced and impactful tool when placed in the right hands (with the correct training). It can be used quite adequately for quantifying an intertidal seagrass ecosystem (yes there are issue’s). But nothing compared to a leak on a system with 15000psi pressure rating.!
“Citizen Science” at least my version germinated in my mind. I had practical repeatable success (after reading papers on seagrass propagation) in front of a tank and now I had a 22nd century tool that can be “idiot proofed” (if I can do it anyone can).
One of my biggest issues with tools, technology and science is accomplishment.
Im reminded of a quote from Jurrasic park.
“Scientist’s are preoccupied with accomplishments”
Arnt we all!
But what use is a new tool, technology or science that can not be upscaled, dissemnitated and shared to make it as impactful as possible???
My first foray into surveying seagrass.