Collecting data modules
The ‘collecting data’ modules in the Healthy Country AI and digital training program are designed around site surveys, to ensure training provides Indigenous rangers with skills to responsibly collect useful and useable data for a purpose, to monitor the adaptive management of healthy country values.
In each module, trainees are supported to mobilise their own knowledge practices to ensure monitoring technologies are used in a culturally safe way on Country, under the authority of appropriate Elders. Training occurs on the job and can be built into collaborative research projects or monitoring programs so rangers can use monitoring technologies as tools to support their caring for Country work in place.
Modules have been developed for popular environmental and cultural monitoring technologies, including drones (remotely piloted aircraft or RPAs), camera traps, video cameras, and touch GIS. These technologies can be used to collect ecological, social, and cultural monitoring data.
Site survey using drones
Drones enable Indigenous people to see country from the sky. Drones are often used by Indigenous rangers and their partners to map and monitor specific sites to assess changes over time, particularly before and after management actions. This includes monitoring the effectiveness of weed control, erosion mitigation, and feral animal impacts to waterholes.
The completion of this module is accredited as a micro-credential through Charles Darwin University, as part of the Healthy Country Digital Monitoring collection.
Skill Units
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
- Culturally safe drone use
- Launch and land a drone
- Fly drone in a controlled way
- Take photos of country from the air with the drone
- Set up survey area in drone control app to work offline
- Collect monitoring data of site using drone
Check the right people have consented to camera traps being installed on their country.
Agree on areas that should and should not have camera traps.
Prepare physical elements of drone for flight on the ground (batteries, camera, etc).
Turn on and equip drone.
Connect to smartphone or tablet.
Take off.
Hover at eye level.
Fly forward, backward, left and right.
Land drone.
Turn off and disassemble drone.
Launch drone and fly to 10m in air.
Fly drone away from you.
Turn drone around to point back at where you are.
Take a selfie photo of yourself.
Turn drone around to point away from you.
Fly drone back to home base.
Land drone.
Take gimble cover off drone camera and check that it is working.
Launch drone and fly to above tree height.
Fly drone to monitoring site, with yourself and your spotter keeping drone in line-of-sight.
Use the map in the drone control app to position yourself.
Take a clear photo or video of the monitoring site with the drone camera.
Fly the drone using the map to get back to home base.
Test the automatic bring to home function.
Land drone.
Choose an appropriate area at the monitoring site which will show change in healthy country values, can be accessed for management actions, and is maximum 40 hectares in size (30 minutes flying at 70 metres using three batteries).
Open computer and open drone deploy website (add link) and login or register if haven’t done already.
On drone deploy website, create a new survey area and name it Open drone deploy app on smartphone.
Make sure the recently created survey is synced with phone.
Select the recently created survey and open.
Open advanced settings and select ‘available offline’.
Turn smartphone on airplane mode and check the survey is still accessible.
Navigate to survey area.
Choose launch spot away from trees and other obstacles.
Open drone control app and click on the recently created survey site.
Connect app to drone and controller.
Do pre-flight checks (memory card inserted, gimbal cover off, camera working, batteries charged, propellers & batteries connected).
Launch drone.
Monitor the flight and manage the drone if issues arise.
Bring drone ‘home’ and change batteries mid-flight as needed.
Land safely.
Sanity check the data.
Upload survey photos into drone software and produce map.
Site survey using camera traps
Camera traps enable Indigenous people to see country when they are not there. Camera traps can be a simple and effective way to understand what animals are on country. Camera traps are often used to collect data the impact of various land management practices on the presence and status of animal populations, like fire and feral animal management practices. There are useful videos online including: how to set up a camera trap for wildlife surveys by the Warddeken Rangers and how to install camera traps by the Arthur Rylah Institute.
The completion of this module will be accredited as a micro-credential through Charles Darwin University, as part of the Healthy Country Digital Monitoring collection.
Skill Units
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
- Culturally safe use of camera traps
- Agree on sites to install camera traps
- Set up camera traps for monitoring
- Install camera traps on country
Check the right people have consented to camera traps being installed on their country.
Agree on areas that should and should not have camera traps.
Drive around country with Traditional Owners to identify places to install camera traps.
Agree on the purpose of monitoring, choose whether the camera will be set on motion sensor or timelapse, and decide on when the cameras will be set out and when they will be retrieved.
Mark the monitoring sites on hardcopy and online maps.
Charge batteries for cameras.
Put batteries in cameras.
Check the SD memory cars is empty.
Put SD memory card in camera.
Turn on cameras.
Set date, time, type of monitoring, timing of data collection.
Turn off cameras until it is time to install them on country.
Turn on cameras.
Check batteries are charged.
Check date, time, type of monitoring, timing of data collection all set correctly.
Install camera at the chosen site by tying the camera to a large tree (more than 20cm in diameter) or using a star picket.
Check the camera is taking photos by doing the ‘walk test’.
Put pink tape on the tree to mark where the camera is.
Record site of camera with GPS or cybertracker to pick it up in the future.
Come back in five weeks to pick up the cameras and download the photos.
The following skills are relevant if the camera is being used for motion detection:
Make sure the camera is 0.7m from the ground/base of the tree.
Pull out grass or other plants from in front of the camera because the camera will take a photo of them if they move in the wind.
Set up a bait station two metres away from the camera and make sure the camera is facing the bait station.
Put peanut butter, honey, and oats in the bait container.
Put a rock behind the camera so it is pointing at the bait station.
Site survey using video cameras
Video cameras are often used to record Elders telling stories about the health of country. These assessments and reflections provide qualitative data on changes to healthy country values before and after on-ground management activities and can be used to guide next actions. Oral stories and assessments of the health of country can be stored by ranger groups for future generations to continue learning from Elders.
The completion of this module will be accredited as a micro-credential through Charles Darwin University, as part of the Healthy Country Digital Monitoring collection.
Skill Units
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
- Cultural protocols and research ethics for using video cameras
- Basic video camera operation and filming techniques
- Active listening and asking good interview questions
- Plan and capture footage for an interview or video story
- Put together a video story
Check the right people have consented to video cameras being used to interview Elders on their Country.
Agree on areas that should and should not be used to interview Elders.
Agree on who the right people are that should be interviewed.
Understand the purpose of interviews for site surveying.
Understand research ethics and processes for Free and Prior Informed Consent, including understanding procedures to protect interviewees’ confidentiality, secure data access and storage, and voluntary participation.
Install and turn on video camera.
Check there are batteries for adequate power to cover the full recording.
Safely charge and store lithium batteries.
Set date, time, mode of recording/resolution, microphone, and background noise setting.
Set up tripod correctly (e.g. horizon and level, distance to interviewee).
Set up lapel microphone on interviewee.
Check lighting and focus of the video.
Understand and practice active listening.
Understand basic interview techniques, including asking simple questions to build the confidence of the interviewee, asking prepared questions, and asking impromptu questions based on the direction of the conversation.
Draft a set of interview questions to illicit information about healthy country values.
Determine interview length and time management (take care not to fatigue interviewees).
Turn on the video camera.
Ask the interviewee their name and role.
Check consent with the interviewee and remind them of their rights to data and privacy.
Ask the interviewee questions, including set questions and impromptu questions.
Thank the interviewee for their time.
Turn the video camera off.
Content to come.