• Do you want to make better use of your wildlife field data?
• Are you investigating how species are distributed across a landscape?
• Would learning a new skill help you take the next step in your career or research?

If so, study with VerdantLearn!

We are running a flexible online course on Occupancy Modelling starting later this month.  The course is suitable for complete beginners, or to refresh and strengthen your understanding of occupancy modelling

For more information and to register, see https://verdantlearn.com/courses/occupancy-nov22/

• Aim: Build confidence to use occupancy modelling in your own conservation work
• Course dates: 3 weeks from Monday 21 November to Sunday 11 December 2022, plus an optional project week 12-18 Dec
• Time commitment: 3-5 hours/week, when it suits you
• Cost: £7 to £97 depending on your country of residence/employment and income - see below for explanation
• Deadline to apply: 13:00 UTC Friday 18 November

Study in a sociable environment in our online learning community at https://community.verdantlearn.org.  You will have access to a dedicated discussion forum to ask questions and learn together, supplemented by live video calls each week (attendance optional)

Occupancy modelling allows you to assess and monitor species distributions.  It's a versatile analysis that can be applied to a wide range of field data, from sign surveys to camera trapping and eDNA

You'll learn the underlying concepts, prepare your data, and apply the standard single-season single-species occupancy model.  We provide example datasets, but we encourage and support you to learn with your own field data if you have it

Future courses will explore how ecological and human factors influence species distributions, and cover the principles of survey design for occupancy modelling

If those dates don't work for you, join our mailing list to hear about the next time we run this, and other, courses

I believe that every wildlife conservationist should have access to high-quality, sociable learning opportunities

I am experimenting with pricing structures that are affordable for learners while allowing me to earn a living so I can keep helping those on the ground to build their capacity for conservation.

The course fee starts at £7 for conservationists based in low- or middle-income countries (Global South) who are not currently earning a wage; £27 for students/low-earners, and £47 for high earners in low- or middle-income countries.  Likewise in high-income countries, the suggested fee is £37 for unwaged, £67 for students/low earners and £97 for professionals

However, we allow you to pay the fee that feels appropriate to you.  We don't check your location or earnings - we just ask you to pay a higher fee if you can afford it, so we can continue to make our courses accessible to all

If you cannot pay by credit or debit card, please email me so we can discuss other payment methods, e.g. Paypal

I look forward to hearing about your conservation work, and connecting you with other conservationists!