EarthRanger Workshop
Turning Data into Decisions
A three-day programme for reserve managers, data managers and team leaders, turning field data into management insight.
Arrive Mon · depart Fri
Welcome
Thank you for joining us. EarthRanger use is growing fast across southern Africa, and field teams now collect more data than ever. The challenge is turning that data into decisions. This workshop follows that thread: how field observations become trusted indicators, clear analysis and, finally, timely management action.
What you will take home
Knowledge
- The adaptive management cycle, from data capture to decisions
- How EarthRanger, SMART, EcoScope and other systems fit together
- Linking your data to MEL frameworks and the right indicators
- The SERCA roadmap (SMART–EarthRanger Conservation Alliance)
Experience
- Case studies from reserves using EarthRanger in practice
- A field visit to the Lapalala Security Operations Centre and the Pangolarium
- A network of ER users to keep learning with
Skills
- ER Admin: event types, users, permissions and subjects
- Analysers and alerts that watch your data for you
- EcoScope workflows to export and analyse ER data
Three days at a glance
Workshop competitions
Compete all week in the workshop EarthRanger site. Prizes for each winner!
- Best ER sightingDay 1 · Tuesday game drive. Record your best sighting as an event in ER Mobile.
- Longest patrol trackDay 2 · Wednesday. Track the longest patrol in ER Mobile, starting with your journey to Lapalala.
- Best new event typeDay 3 · Thursday. Design a realistic, field-ready event type in ER Admin.
Winners are announced at the close on Thursday. Get set up on the EarthRanger tab before you travel.
Programme
Times and speakers may still shift slightly. This page is kept up to date.
Workshop EarthRanger instance
During the workshop we all work in one shared EarthRanger site, the Resolve Wildlife Reserve. You can start using it before you arrive.
The workshop site
It is a demo reserve set inside the Lapalala landscape, with rangers, vehicles, collared wildlife, patrols, events and alerts already in it. Explore it freely: nothing you do here affects a real reserve. On Day 3 you will also use it to build your own event types, analysers and alerts.
Open EarthRanger Web- Username: your first name followed by .workshop, for example Elke.workshop
- Password: you will receive an email from EarthRanger with a link to set your own password. Check your spam folder if you can't find it.
Track your journey to Lapalala
- Install EarthRanger Mobile
Free on iPhone and Android. Search for “EarthRanger” (published by the Allen Institute for AI). - Sign in to the workshop site
Open the app and enter the site address resolveworkshop.pamdas.org, then sign in with your username (e.g. Elke.workshop) and the password you set via the email. - Start tracking
Before you set off, start tracking (or start a patrol) in the app. Your route to the venue at Lapalala then appears on the workshop map. Allow location access “always” so tracking keeps running with the screen off. - Report what you see as events
Spot wildlife, a road hazard, a fence break or anything interesting along the way? Add it as an event, with a photo if you can. The app works offline and uploads once you have signal again.
Why bother?
Your tracks and sightings become real data that we use in the sessions on data capture, dashboards and analysis. They also count toward the workshop competitions: best ER sighting and longest patrol track in ER Mobile.
Trouble installing or signing in? Contact Elke before the workshop, or visit the tech desk at registration on Monday.
Elke van Gils
EarthRanger access and app support
Logistics
Venue
Lapalala Wilderness School
Lapalala Wilderness Reserve, Waterberg, Limpopo, South Africa. The school sits just outside the reserve's southern border, in the Melkrivier area north of Vaalwater.
Open in Google MapsArrival and departure
- Arrive Monday 26 October, through the afternoon or evening. The registration and tech desk is open, so everyone starts Tuesday at 08:00 in good order.
- Welcome dinner on Monday evening (informal).
- Depart Friday 30 October after breakfast. Facilitators are available in the morning for one-to-one questions.
- Interested in follow-up training or a site visit straight after the workshop? Speak to the Resolve Wildlife team.
Travel
- By road: Lapalala is in the Waterberg, roughly a 3½–4 hour drive from Johannesburg/Pretoria via the N1 and Vaalwater. Last stretches may be gravel; plan to arrive in daylight.
- Flying in: the nearest international airport is OR Tambo (Johannesburg). We are coordinating shared transfers from OR Tambo for those who asked for this on the registration form.
- Detailed directions and transfer times follow in the Preparation & Logistics email the week before the workshop.
Accommodation and meals
- Accommodation at the venue is on a shared basis. We take room-mate requests from the form into account where we can.
- Meals during the workshop are provided. Dietary requirements from the form are passed on to the venue.
What to bring
- Laptop and charger (for the hands-on sessions on Day 3)
- Phone with EarthRanger Mobile installed, plus a power bank
- Warm layer, hat and sunscreen for the game drives and field visit
- Any personal medication
Contacts
Elke van Gils
Registration, EarthRanger access, tech questions
Mike Hensman
Programme, venue and travel
You will also be added to the workshop WhatsApp group with the mobile number you gave on the form.
Ask a question
Questions for a speaker, or something you want covered? Post them on Mentimeter at any time during the workshop. Mike and Roy pick up open questions at each daily opening and recap.