Machine learning is a powerful tool that SkyTruth employs for a wide variety of conservation goals, from detecting roads to scoping out oil pollution at sea. As a former geology major, I jumped at the chance to leverage computer science skills to promote conservation in this way by applying to be a SkyTruth intern.
As a newbie, at first the tech-heavy work intimidated me; it was difficult to imagine how I would fit in.
That fear was quickly replaced with excitement. On my first day, I met the team and developed a better understanding of exactly how I would contribute to environmental change.
As 2021 draws to a close, SkyTruth is celebrating its 20th anniversary as an environmental tech nonprofit. It’s hard for us to believe how far SkyTruth — and technology — have come in those 20 years, and how much we have accomplished. In 2022 we’re poised to grow even more; doubling the size of the SkyTruth team and magnifying our ability to use technology to promote conservation for people and the planet. Read on to join us on our journey from very humble beginnings to high-tech innovators.
SkyTruth is working to automate the detection of drilling sites around the world using machine learning. In the meantime, intern Dylan Thomson explains what skytruthers who care about drilling in their communities should look for when using satellite imagery on SkyTruth Alerts.
SkyTruth Intern Sasha Bylsma and Geospatial Analyst Brendan Jarrell explained how we create training data and implement a machine learning model to detect oil and gas well pads.