DroneWild Showcase: Advancing Drone Technology for Forestry and Wildlife
On Wednesday 23 September, around 50 representatives from Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and the wider forestry, wildlife and environmental sector came together at CatStrand in New Galloway for a joint DroneWild and Forestry and Land Scotland showcase.
The event provided an opportunity to showcase the progress made through the CivTech program and demonstrate how emerging drone technology is being developed for practical use across forestry and wildlife operations.
The full-day event combined presentations, discussions and hands-on demonstrations at the CatStrand in the morning, followed by a live heavy-lift drone demonstration in Galloway Forest in the afternoon.
Following more than two years of development, the showcase was an opportunity for FLS staff and representatives from across the wider sector to see the technology first-hand, explore the equipment and software and discuss how these tools could be applied to real-world forestry and wildlife management challenges.
A Partnership Focused on Practical Innovation
The DroneWild program was developed through the CivTech Challenge in partnership with Forestry and Land Scotland with the shared objective of exploring how drone technology can improve the efficiency, safety and cost-effectiveness of forestry and wildlife operations.
The programme has developed around four key pillars:
Training – equipping staff with the knowledge and skills to use drones effectively for wildlife monitoring and surveying.
Machine Learning – transforming thermal imagery into useful wildlife data quickly and efficiently.
WildTAK – providing rangers with a platform to record, map and share wildlife observations in the field.
Heavy Lift – using large-capacity drones to undertake challenging, remote and potentially hazardous lifting tasks from the air.
The showcase provided an opportunity for FLS and DroneWild to bring these four areas together and demonstrate the progress made so far.
Following a welcome from Josh Roberts of FLS, Ben Harrower outlined the DroneWild journey, from the original CivTech Challenge 9.3 project through to the development of the four technology areas now being trialled with FLS.
The Morning at the CatStrand
Training
The morning presentations began with David Recchia talking about Training, one of the four core pillars of the DroneWild program.
DroneWild’s Lantra-accredited online course, Using Drones for Wildlife Monitoring and Surveying, has been developed to help existing drone operators apply their skills specifically to wildlife work. The course covers survey planning, thermal imagery, wildlife identification and interpretation, as well as appropriate approaches to surveying deer and other species.
The session also highlighted the practical training and support already delivered to FLS wildlife rangers, helping staff develop the skills and confidence to incorporate drones into their day-to-day work. This has included supporting rangers through the relevant drone training and providing guidance on the safe and compliant use of drones in operational environments.
An important part of this work has been the development of a dedicated compliance app, designed to help FLS operators manage their drone operations and ensure that flights are planned and conducted safely and in accordance with the relevant operational requirements. The app provides a centralised system for recording and managing flight information, helping to support consistent compliance across the organisation.
Machine Learning
Ben Harrower provided an overview of the DroneWild machine-learning web application, demonstrating how thermal imagery can be processed to help identify wildlife and turn aerial footage into usable data.
The latest phase of development has expanded the model to include additional species, including pine marten and wildcat, with approximately 15,000 images contributing to the training dataset for these species.
The platform is now approaching the end of its beta-testing phase. Individual user logins will allow users to create and manage their own maps and datasets, with the longer-term aim of making the technology available to a wider group of FLS staff and external users.
The development and testing of the platform has been closely linked to FLS operational requirements, ensuring that the technology is being shaped around the needs of the people using it in the field.
WildTAK
Mark Halliday from Mini Workgroups introduced WildTAK, DroneWild’s wildlife-focused development of the TAK platform.
WildTAK enables FLS rangers to record geo-referenced wildlife observations directly in the field using a simple pick-list system, photographs and automatically captured GPS coordinates and timestamps. Observations can then be shared across the wider team, helping to build a clearer picture of wildlife activity and management operations.
Connectivity across remote areas remains one of the key challenges. DroneWild is therefore continuing to work closely with a core group of FLS rangers to refine the server configuration, connectivity and operational set-up before progressing towards a wider rollout.
The morning concluded with a series of practical demonstration stations, giving FLS staff and other attendees the opportunity to handle the aircraft, explore the software and speak directly with the teams involved in developing the technology.
Heavy Lift: Taking the Work Into the Air
After lunch, the focus moved to the joint FLS and DroneWild heavy-lift program.
DroneWild is currently operating two DJI FlyCart 100 aircraft, among the first six in the UK. The aircraft are supported by a dedicated modified trailer carrying batteries, lifting equipment, a generator and the associated equipment required to operate in remote locations.
The FlyCart 100 can carry payloads of up to 85 kg when operating with dual batteries, or up to 100 kg with a single battery, and incorporates a parachute safety system.
DroneWild operates the heavy-lift programme under a CAA Specific Category authorisation based on a Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA).
The current programme is a year-long trial with FLS, running through to June 2027. Together, FLS and DroneWild are investigating how heavy-lift drones could be used for a range of challenging forestry and wildlife management tasks.
These include the extraction of all four Scottish deer species, as well as goats and feral boar, from difficult terrain, alongside transporting forestry infrastructure and materials to and from remote areas.
Ian Fergusson from Forestry and Land Scotland delivered a presentation on carcass preparation and handling in the field, providing an important insight into the practical considerations involved in preparing deer carcasses for extraction and onward processing.
This is where the heavy-lift programme connects directly with the wider objective of improving the wild venison supply chain. Efficiently moving a carcass from remote ground is not simply about reducing manual handling; maintaining carcass condition and minimising the time between extraction and processing are also important considerations for food quality.
Into Galloway Forest
In the afternoon, the group travelled into Galloway Forest for a safety briefing and live heavy-lift demonstration, led by Ben Harrower, Grant Carson, David Recchia and Martin Harrower.
For many attendees, seeing the FlyCart 100 operating with a real payload in an FLS forestry environment provided a much clearer understanding of the potential applications of the technology than a presentation alone could offer.
The demonstration generated a wide range of practical questions around site selection, weather conditions, operational planning, payloads, safety and how heavy-lift drones could be integrated into routine forestry operations.
For FLS and DroneWild, these discussions are an important part of the trial. The aim is not simply to demonstrate what the aircraft can do but to establish where the technology can deliver genuine operational benefits and how it can be safely integrated into existing FLS operations.
Working Together to Develop What Comes Next
The Galloway showcase demonstrated the breadth of work being undertaken through the FLS and DroneWild partnership, from training and machine learning to real-time field mapping and heavy-lift operations.
The machine-learning platform and Lantra-accredited training course are both approaching wider launch, while the heavy-lift programme with FLS will continue through to June 2027.
The value of the showcase was not simply in demonstrating technology, but in bringing together the people who will ultimately use it. Feedback from FLS staff and wider industry representatives will help shape the next stage of development and ensure that the technology remains focused on practical operational requirements.
A huge thank you to Forestry and Land Scotland for co-hosting the event and for its continued support throughout the programme, to CivTech for supporting the development work, to the CatStrand for providing the venue, to Mark Halliday from Mini Workgroups and to everyone who took the time to attend and contribute to the discussions.
The development of DroneWild has always been about more than drones. Through our partnership with FLS, it is about finding practical ways to use emerging technology to improve how we manage wildlife, forests and the people working within them.
To find out more about DroneWild and our four pillars, contact
info@dronewild.co.uk or visit dronewild.co.uk.
Comments