Amazon Web Services

We're partnering with Amazon Web Services (AWS), lead sponsor of our Urban Nature Project, to transform and accelerate scientific research through the creation of a Data Ecosystem. 

Bringing together a range of UK environmental and biodiversity data types for the first time, the partnership will help us to build on our scientific understanding, encourage more integrated, cross-disciplinary research programmes and drive science-led nature recovery in the UK's urban spaces.

The Data Ecosystem will help to accelerate our biodiversity monitoring programme, starting with our Urban Nature Project, which is transforming our five-acre site into a biologically diverse green space in the heart of London. As well as housing an onsite learning and activity centre, which will host science activities powered by AWS, our new gardens will provide 'living galleries' where our scientists can develop and test new methods to monitor, protect and enrich urban nature.

The Data Ecosystem will be built on AWS, allowing us to capture, store, combine and compare data in a secure, resilient and scalable way.

It'll be made available to our scientists, as well as our partner institutes across the UK, helping researchers to build a deeper understanding of the UK's urban biodiversity, including its composition, how it relates to environmental conditions and how it responds to direct conservation action.

Researchers will be able to rapidly and accurately study biodiversity data types alongside environmental data, including soil chemistry, atmospheric chemistry and noise pollution. Alongside this, they'll also be able to access the wildlife data we've collected from our gardens over the past 27 years. Combined, these will build an increasingly detailed picture of biodiversity health and should open up large-scale opportunities for research and nature-positive action.

Understanding how wildlife is responding to change requires large volumes of data. Our Urban Nature Project is taking the lead and convening a national partnership of urban nature professionals, including academic researchers and conservation practitioners.

We're piloting a range of technologies for monitoring change in urban environments, including eDNA and acoustic monitoring, and sharing these with our partners, alongside our eDNA library and teaching collection. Central to this work is the Data Ecosystem being developed in collaboration with AWS and built using their technologies.

Our partnership will make it quicker and easier to monitor urban habitats by developing and implementing efficient and effective eDNA, acoustic and digital environmental monitoring methodologies. Large-scale open access datasets of the information collected will then be made available for research and conservation use.

As well as redeveloping our grounds in South Kensington, our Urban Nature Project is kickstarting a national movement. We'll be working with organisations across the UK to inspire the next generation and to create new opportunities for young people in cities, helping everyone to learn about humanity's impact on the natural world.

'Working with AWS to develop the Data Ecosystem will revolutionise the scientific work we undertake at the Museum. The data will form an essential tool in unlocking new solutions to the planetary ecological emergency, from monitoring the UK's wildlife to furthering science-informed nature recovery in our towns and cities.'

Dr John Tweddle, Head of the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity, Natural History Museum

'The National Biodiversity Network Trust has partnered with the Natural History Museum for more than 20 years on pioneering biodiversity data projects. We're excited by the development of the Museum's innovative new Data Ecosystem, built on Amazon Web Services, which will help to answer critical questions about the health of the natural world and how we can stop the biodiversity crisis.'

Lisa Chilton, Chief Executive Officer, National Biodiversity Network Trust

'It has never been more critical to speed up the pace at which local observations feed into world-class research and feed back out into real action for the planet. Supported by the Data Ecosystem, our Community Science Programme puts power into the hands of people across the UK to study and protect the local environments they care about.'

Lucy Robinson, Citizen Science Manager, Natural History Museum