To kick things off, here’s a recap on Karthik’s trip to Peru earlier this year, along with a look ahead at what he’s involved in this month.
It certainly wasn’t a bad way to start the year — jetting off to South America for the first International Conservation Technology Conference, hosted by Wildlabs in Peru.
Our Acoustic Data Scientist, Karthik, was invited to present at the conference in February, where he spoke to a highly technically engaged audience about the emerging field of soil acoustics and its role within conservation technology and bioacoustics. While bioacoustics above ground is becoming an increasingly established area of research, soil acoustics is still very much finding its place in the wider conservation conversation, making the opportunity to introduce the topic to researchers and technologists from around the world particularly valuable.
Alongside the conference itself, Karthik managed to fit in a few trips and field visits during his time in Peru, including spotting Peruvian Boobies and Inca Terns along the coastline, a memorable addition to an already inspiring trip. He was grateful for the warm reception and thoughtful questions from attendees, with many of the conversations after the session proving just as valuable as the presentation itself.
Some of Karthik’s standout reflections from the event included:
“The workshops on acoustic technology showcased just how quickly the field is advancing — from new sensor designs to smarter analysis methods, the pace of innovation is quite exciting. Big thanks to the team at Wildlife Acoustics, Kitzes’ Lab, Joe Nash and other participants for the brilliant workshops and conversations.
It was also great to see so much underrepresented and open-source tech getting attention. Special shout-out to the Mothbox project; a fantastic example of accessible, low-cost biodiversity monitoring that’s putting powerful tools into more hands.
Coming away from this, I’m more convinced than ever that listening, to forests, to soils, to ecosystems, is one of our most underused conservation tools. Excited to bring these ideas back into my own work.”
This week (14–15 May), Karthik is attending the Nature Tech Unconference at the London School of Economics and Political Science, joining researchers, investors, field practitioners and policymakers to discuss some of the biggest unanswered questions facing the sector.
Designed around open discussion rather than formal panels, the event features 32 participant-led sessions, with the agenda shaped collaboratively by the room itself. With organisations including Sand River, HCV Network, Biodiversify, Climate Policy Radar, Vizzuality, Nature Data Lab, Gentian, BeeOdiversity and Nature Metrics involved, the event promises a wide-ranging and honest conversation about the future of nature technology.
Karthik is particularly looking forward to hearing what’s new across the sector. And, in his words, “plenty of useful disagreement”. If you’re attending the event too, make sure to say hello.
The Baker Consultants team is highly experienced and we are passionate about what we do. If you need advice related to ecology, surveys or conservation, then please get in touch with us via our contact form on the website, or you can call us on +44 (0)1629 593958 or email us on info@bakerconsultants.co.uk.