EarthRanger User Training 2025 | Manyani, Kenya

EarthRanger is becoming an increasingly important tool in the conservation toolbox, helping protected area managers and field teams bring together information from across vast landscapes into one central platform. By connecting field observations, ranger patrols, wildlife tracking and other conservation technologies, EarthRanger provides a shared operational picture, strengthening situational awareness and supporting more coordinated responses to threats.

As Kenya's conservation operations become increasingly digitally connected, personnel need the skills to collect and share accurate field data effectively. In November 2025, Connected Conservation Foundation (CCF) delivered two days of hands-on EarthRanger training to 150 Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) cadets at the KWS Law Enforcement Academy in Manyani, building practical skills in collecting and submitting field information to support wildlife protection.

From field observations to a shared operational picture

The training introduced cadets to EarthRanger's role as a centralised operational platform, demonstrating how field reports and connected conservation technologies contribute to a shared view of wildlife movements, ranger patrols and incidents. Cadets learned how accurate, consistent field reporting supports operational awareness, helping conservation teams monitor activity and coordinate responses across protected areas. The emphasis was on understanding how accurate, consistent field reporting contributes to a reliable operational picture, ensuring that information collected on the ground can be accessed and used by the teams responsible for managing and protecting wildlife.

Connecting field data to EarthRanger 

A key focus of the training was understanding the journey information takes from the field into EarthRanger. Cadets were also introduced to what happens behind the screen, including APIs and webhooks and how they allow different conservation technologies to communicate and exchange data. Training covered the principles of EarthRanger backend configuration and integration, helping participants understand the journey data takes from a connected device into the platform. Cadets followed that process step by step, from collecting information in the field to pushing it into EarthRanger for use by conservation teams.

Building a stronger conservation technology workforce

The course laid the foundations for the next stage of training at Manyani: an advanced IoT administration course for KWS technical staff and representatives from 13 conservancies and conservation organisations across Kenya.

Together, the courses addressed two complementary needs: equipping conservation personnel to collect and submit reliable field data, while developing specialists capable of deploying, integrating and maintaining the supporting digital infrastructure. By strengthening both user-level and technical expertise, CCF is helping build local capacity to independently manage connected systems and sustain wildlife protection across Kenya.