New Zealand's Wildlife.ai Trust selected for Google.org-supported APAC Sustainability Fund

Wildlife.ai Trust, a New Zealand conservation tech organisation, is one of 18 Asia-Pacific grantees selected as part of the APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 2.0.

Established by AVPN, the $5M Sustainability Seed Fund is supported by Google.org and the Asian Development Bank as the outreach partner. In its second iteration, this fund set out to support organisations using AI and Cloud tools to tackle pressing environmental challenges.

Wildlife.ai Trust will use the grant to create Wildlife Watcher, a smart camera trap using AI to improve wildlife conservation efforts. It promises more accurate animal identification, which will aid conservationists in preserving New Zealand’s natural heritage.

Dr Victor Anton, Founder and GM of Wildlife.ai Trust, says: "Imagine a wildlife camera that not only photographs animals but also uses cutting-edge AI to instantly identify them! That's the power of the Wildlife Watcher.”

He adds: “We're thrilled that the support of AVPN and Google.org will unlock a whole new level of animal monitoring. With their support, we'll create a user-friendly, affordable camera that empowers biologists and nature enthusiasts everywhere to track wildlife across vast areas and over time – something never before possible!”.

Founded in 2019, Wildlife.AI Trust has developed several projects to aid in conservation efforts. Pepeketua ID is a pattern recognition software that enables the individual identification of Archey's frogs, an archaic species of frog endemic to New Zealand’s North Island. Spyfish Aotearoa, a machine learning project, identifies fish in baited underwater videos, while Wētā Watcher is a smart camera that monitors ground-dwelling lizards and geckos.

Like the rest of the APAC region, New Zealand is susceptible to the impacts of climate change, making initiatives like the APAC Sustainability Seed Fund crucial. The 18 selected projects span a diverse range of environmental concerns, ranging from education and water resource management to circular economy and marine conservation. For more information about the program and its recipients, visit the APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 2.0 website.

Posted by Annie Lewin, Senior Director, Google.org