Drones and wildlife may seem like an odd coupling, but for conservation ecologist Dr Debbie Saunders, it has proven to be a real winner.

Debbie is the founder and CEO of Wildlife Drones, a local Canberra company established in 2016 that is doing something no one else in the world is doing – tracking wildlife with drone technology.

Her efforts to improve conservation management practices around the world has earnt her a number of accolades, the latest being 2023 Canberra Businesswoman of the Year at the recent Canberra Women in Business Awards.

“Winning this award is pretty amazing, a real highpoint in my career. It’s nice to be recognised,” she said.

But for Debbie, it wasn’t always easy.

“There were a lot of naysayers over the years. People who didn’t really believe in what I was doing. But you can’t worry about that,” she said.

“I have amazing mentors, and a support network in Canberra. You just need to surround yourself with people who lift you up and believe in you.”

Wildlife Drones came about after a struggle to track the humble swift parrot.

“It’s a small animal that moves dynamically across massive landscapes – it’s also critically endangered,” Debbie said.

“My colleagues had tried to track them before. They would catch them, which is a feat in of itself, put a tag on them but when they released them, they never found them again. All of that effort, and they would just fly away.

“So if we wanted to track them, we really needed to find a different way.”

Debbie received an ICON grant to help develop her product (which enabled her to buy her first drone), and took advantage of the many programs and events offered by the Canberra Innovation Network.

Now, Wildlife Drones is the only company in the world providing this kind of technology, and it’s all manufactured in Canberra.

Governments, not-for-profits, zoos, environmental consultants and researchers are using Wildlife Drones’ technology to track everything from giant hornets and Burmese pythons in the US, to koalas and bilbies in Australia.

Debbie says Canberra has been a great place to start up and grow a business, with a supportive innovation ecosystem that has helped her attract investment.

“Being from wildlife background, I wasn’t sure how to do some things, like a business pitch,” she said.

“But it’s amazing how many synergies there are between business and research. And that was the moment it clicked for me – I do this all the time, applying for grants is exactly the same thing.

“I now have an amazing team and work on amazing things. That has been the real game changer, surrounding myself with smart and creative people who are up for the challenge.”

So, what’s next for Wildlife Drones?

“So many things,” laughs Debbie.

“We’re developing a new product and it’s got nothing to do with drones.

“With the new Global Biodiversity Framework that was signed off, and a lot of countries signed up to, businesses are now required to be accountable in terms of biodiversity. There’s an immense amount of data out there that can be used to help businesses and corporations better understand biodiversity and how to monitor and track over time.

“We are developing software to help make use of all that data.

“It’s great to be in a time when biodiversity is front and centre.”

For more information about the Canberra Innovation Network go to the CBRIN website.

Get ACT news and events delivered straight to your inbox, sign up to our email newsletter:

Subscribe to Our CBR