Whilst finishing up the PiPoE Kickstarter Campaign this week, other Kickstarter that has only just launched, caught my eye. It’s called Naturebytes and it’s a wildlife digital camera that’s used to help monitor wildlife.

I’ve always been interested with creating something with the Raspberry Pi that could help monitor the wildlife in my garden and now that’s possible with this little kit.

The 3D Printed NatureBytes Camera Kit

I’m a big fan of the 3D printed case they’ve been working hard on. I think it’s perfect for the garden!

The NatureBytes kit has quite an impressive list of features that are included in the Kickstarter:

• Takes HD images, video and slow-motion image capture
• It is even motion sensitive!
• Not only is it useful for Wildlife Monitoring, but it can be used as a tool for learning by teaching people about code, and nature!
• You can connect it to WiFi so your phone will receive all the latest camera snaps from your wildlife kit.
• You can also sign up to the community that NatureBytes is developing. This will be a great place for sharing your wildlife images with other members and finding out what other images of animals people have caught.
• It’s open source and hackable so community members can develop their own pieces of kit.

There’s a wide target audience for this product and it’s simple enough for anyone to start working on. At the same time, there are aspects that advanced coders and makers can work on (such as modifying the case design, adding new code and hardware!)

The kit can be used by wildlife fans, photography enthusiasts, digital makers, engineers, teachers and educators.

A problem NatureBytes is addressing is that people are becoming more disconnected from nature..  An RSPB report revealed that only 1 in 5 children in the UK are connected to nature, or in other words, 4 in 5 children are lacking an appreciation and understanding of nature.

Many people, including parents, blame technology for inactivity, particularly with kids not getting outside. However, NatureBytes is taking a new approach. They are taking awesome tech, like the Raspberry Pi and 3D Printing, and combining it with the opportunity to learn about wildlife in a captivating way.

At Pi Supply, we’ve already backed the campaign, and we encourage you too as well. If you’re unable to pledge, why not share the campaign social media. Currently they’re 24% funded and still have 27 days to go. So they’re off to a great start!

You can pledge here