Urban Research Station

Sensor network

The sensor network will consist of round 25 devices measuring acoustic activity and the environment.

Installing acoustic sensor on a tree. © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

• Sensor network philosophy - how we thought about the deisgn of a sensor network.

• Sensor network install - documenting the installation of the sensor network.

• Digital twins - how the sensor network will help form a digital twin of the NHM Gardens.

Visual Observations

There is a long history of visual observations of species, these are currently collected through a mix of transects and ad-hoc recording.

Anybody can contribute to ad-hic recording using iNaturalist or iRecord.

• Nature Discovery Garden iNaturalist project

More-than-human approaches

More-than-human appraoches to biodiversity research are looking at how we can make urban areas more habitable for all species.

• Summary of more-than-human biodiversity research

Media

• The Nature of Tech - Amazon Web Services and the Natural History Museum (2025) - discussing the use of technology in biodiversity research.

• Natural History Museum’s new gardens aim to restore UK’s urban nature New Scientist (2024)

• ITV News (2024) Discussing audio sensor network in NHM Gardens.

Talks

• Internal NHM launch of Urban Research Station - Natural History Museum, London (2025)

Urban Nature at other institutions

• Urban Nature at the Museum of Edinburgh - Courtyard Gallery and an exhibition showcasing the relationship between children’s literature and nature.