Scalable Ecosystem Monitoring In Kenya: Soil health And human-wildlife coexistence
Project summary
African ecosystems represent the vibrant heart of the continent’s wellbeing: as thriving habitat for the abundant, unique wildlife, as a basis for humanity’s survival and growth (e.g. clean water, agriculture, resilience), and as a key economic factor (e.g. clean energy provision, food, critical materials, tourism). Adapting to and combatting the ecological crises already battering Africa is crucial for its future, in which protecting and restoring terrestrial ecosystems will assume an inevitable role. One pertinent problem in sub-Saharan Africa is to improve agricultural yields for growing nutritious demand whilst restoring ecosystems on limited arable, already-degraded land. Increasingly encroached spaces, stressed by climate extremes and anthropogenic expansion, also proliferate human-wildlife conflicts that threaten shared multi-species livelihoods, balanced biodiversity, local productivity, as well as the economically important sector of sustainable wildlife tourism. Understanding complex ecosystems can only advance through data-driven evidence of their state, evolution, and sustainable interventions, and thereby inform decision-making. Scaling up data acquisition across large, complex landscapes is the key bottleneck. Our new paradigm--to bring physics into the ecosystem instead of ecosystems into labs or computers--aims at tackling this data-poverty crisis at scale.
Ecosystem monitoring is extremely difficult: any comprehensive understanding of interactions between diverse agents, and how they change across spatial and temporal scales, across regions and over time, requires scalable, non-invasive, information-dense, well-understood data, ideally in real-time. To meet some of the most urgent and demanding challenges unfolding across Africa and elsewhere, this is the only viable path forward. We suggest conducting in-field physics applied to two key challenges in Africa: food provision and wildlife conflict, both intrinsically embedded in the climate crisis, while offering scalable climate solutions, improving community resilience and local stakeholder empowerment.
The combined effort on scaling up sensing while skilling up farmers, students, and scientists will break new grounds for large-scale ecosystem monitoring across Africa, not only to support local communities and scientists in their mitigation and adaption to the climate and ecological crises, but to empower them to lead innovations with bespoke solutions that may propel Africa to the fore of tackling these crises, and lead the way for other world regions that will face similar problems in the future. This unites rigorous scientific innovation with ethical, participatory implementation — a model for how intersectional physics collaborations can work for people and the planet.
Job news
We have many positions available in Kenya, deadline April 29! We are seeking engineers, physicists, ecologists, agronomists at University of Nairobi, Center for Ecosystem Restoration (Limuru), and Mpala Research Center (Laikipia).
Physicist/engineer will focus on scaling up sensor technologies together with the Earth Rover Program and University of Exeter, in order to enable non-invasive, cheap soil health monitoring with seismic methods. This will include automating data pipelines, physics-informed machine learning, and Python coding.
More information/apply here: CERK Job Opportunity - Physicist / Engineer
Ecologist/agronomist will conceptualise, implement, monitor, and manage a 10x10m plot of agricultural land at charity NGGG in Limuru. This will include working with local soil scientists, agroecologists and seed scientists on building a research plot to examine how soil health is affected by crop types, rotation, and other agricultural practices. Monitoring will be done with other CERK scientists, and in collaboration with the Earth Rover Program.
More information/apply here: CERK Job Opportunity - Ecologist / Agronomist
Engineer/physicist
We are looking to hire an Engineer/Physicist (post-MSc preferred) with experience in sensor technology, data analysis, and Python programming for a contractual period of up to two (2) years, with a start date in May 2026. The project includes regular collaboration meetings, Kenya-based workshops, and a visit to Exeter within the first six months.
More information/apply here: Research Job Opportunity - Engineer/Physicist
Conservation scientist/Ecologist
We are seeking a conservation scientist, ecologist, or wildlife management graduate with strong field experience and interest in behavioral ecology and data-driven conservation, for a contractual period of up to two (2) years, with a start date in May 2026.
More information/apply here: Research Job Opportunity - Wildlife Conservation Scientist/Ecologist
Two internships: Field work in conservation/sensor technology
We are offering two (2) internship positions for individuals eager to gain hands-on experience in field research and conservation technology, for a contractual period of up to two (2) years, with a start date in May 2026.
More information/apply here: Research Internship Opportunities - Field work in conservation/sensor technology
Engineering physicist
This position will lead on co-designing MEMS technology hardware for vibrational sensing with cheap open-source sensor kits, which are currently built in-house at partner organisation Earth Rover Program (ERP) and project lead University of Exeter. The work will focus on building a workplan to source material locally, guide assembly, and work on edge computing (simple data tasks on the sensor), in collaboration with Exeter and ERP. The position requires strong background in sensor engineering and coding, ideally in Python.
More information/apply here:
Engineering research assistant
This assistant position will aid the engineering physicist in building the sensors locally. This will include soldering, micro-electronics, Internet of Things, and cooperate with all partner institutions in Kenya and the UK.
More information/apply here:
Partner institutions
From research-led teaching to building carbon-neutral campuses, we’re striving for something bigger. This is a place for those who believe the world can do better, a world that is greener, healthier and fairer for all, and are ready to build it, together. We bring together students and staff from around the world to share ideas, challenge thinking and make a positive difference. Discover more about who we are and what we stand for.
At the University of Exeter we are leading the way to a sustainable future through application of data science and artificial intelligence (AI) to urgent environmental and sustainability challenges. Harnessing this ‘Environmental Intelligence’, in partnership with organisations across different sectors from industry to government, the Centre for Environmental Intelligence is providing meaningful insights that inform decision-making, improve risk management, and enable the development of new technological solutions, whilst considering their social and ethical implications.
Project lead:
Tarje Nissen-Meyer,
Department of Mathematics & Statistics
Center for Ecosystem Restoration Kenya (CER-K)
The Centre for Ecosystem Restoration-Kenya (CER-K) is a Kenyan non-profit ecosystem restoration organisation operating in the highlands, savannah, and coastal regions. We actively reverse degradation and repair ecosystems through action-oriented research and evidence-based restoration at our growing research and restoration hubs. We collaborate with other restoration practitioners, research organisations, funding bodies, institutions, and local communities to achieve the best restoration practices.
The Mpala Research Centre, is an exceptional hub of field-based research nestled within the captivating landscapes of Laikipia County, Kenya. Renowned as a pioneering collaboration between the United States and Kenya, Mpala enjoys unwavering support from esteemed international research organizations. Harnessing its unique location, Mpala spearheads cutting-edge investigations into crucial global concerns spanning conservation, climate change, biodiversity, genomics, ecology, agriculture, human-wildlife interactions, and public health.
The University of Nairobi (UoN) is a leading institution in research and higher education in Kenya. UoN provides training and innovation in science, technology, and environmental studies.
The Department of Earth and Climate Sciences focuses on climate change, natural resources, and environmental sustainability. Earth scientists and geophysicists use data and technology to monitor and predict environmental changes.
Earth Rover Program, UK/global
The Earth Rover Program unites farmers, researchers, citizens and innovators across disciplines to regenerate the living ground beneath our feet. Using non-invasive approaches to map the world’s soils, we build open scientific tools and partnerships to monitor, understand and restore the land, advancing food security, climate stability, and biodiversity through science, technology, and collaboration.
We envision a planet where healthy soils are the living foundation of thriving communities. By revealing the hidden dynamics beneath our feet, we seek to transform agriculture, restore ecosystems and strengthen the resilience of the landscapes we depend on.
Lion Landscapes, UK/East Africa
Lion Landscapes believes in creating a world where large carnivores are an asset to the local people who live alongside them. When the value of wildlife, right up to these top predators, can be unlocked and realised, both people and nature will benefit. We believe that positive value is developed through three interrelated areas of action.
We are committed to developing community-based solutions to enable better coexistence between people and wildlife, particularly large carnivores. We integrate local knowledge and experience with world-class science to deliver effective, evidence-based conservation. Our collaborative, locally-driven approach allows us to create lasting solutions for both people and wildlife, helping support large, diverse landscapes.
As an environmental organization focused on addressing climate change and local needs, we connect communities to renewal energy resources and empower vulnerable youth through environmental and technical education, job training and production.