Meet the winners of the Pix4D Climate Contest 2019
We are proud to announce the winners of the first ever Pix4D Climate Contest.
The 50 entrants represented 31 countries, and demonstrated a commitment to addressing the climate crisis.
The time for real climate action has come. Diversity in action is key and this contest shows that mapping technology can bring relevant solutions to complex problems.
Théo Milliez, Swiss Youth for Climate
The panel of judges marked each entry for originality and potential climate impact. The winners might just help change the world.
Third place: Fighting the Coastal Kelp Apocalypse
Kelp sequesters as much carbon as a rainforest - but it's rapidly dying off. By tracking the changes from one season to the next, this team aims to preserve selected local nearshore kelp populations and facilitate recovery by tracking restoration efforts and measuring which interventions result in the biggest improvement to kelp health.
Full story coming soon.
The team wins $1,000 USD, access to required Pix4D software and support services for 1 year, plus Pix4Dmapper Fundamentals certification exam access for one team member.
Second place: The Wildfire Aversion by Forecast and Early Response System (W.A.F.E.R.S.)
By algorithmically examining thermal and RGB drone maps, the Wildfire Aversion by Forecast and Early Response System (W.A.F.E.R.S.) aims to predict and track the spread of wildfires, and ultimately prevent fires from breaking out. Wildfires are devastating to wildlife and biodiversity, and release massive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.
W.A.F.E.R.S wins $2,000 USD, access to required Pix4D software and support services for 1 year, plus Pix4Dmapper Fundamentals certification exam access for three team members.
First place: Planting 100,000 trees in Spain
Dronecoria focuses on affordable large scale restorations with UAV-based aerial sowings, dramatically reducing the cost of reforestation and carbon sequestration.
Drone mapping is key to the project, as the team uses it to identify the best spots for sowing, increasing the success rate of seeding and speeding up reforestation.
Dronecoria wins $3,000 USD, access to required Pix4D software and support services for 1 year, plus Pix4Dmapper Fundamentals certification exam access for five team members.
What’s next?
Pierangelo Rothenbühler, Pix4D Project Manager, Environmental Activist, and one of the judges of the competition commented:
“The projects submitted to the Pix4D Climate Contest 2019 are inspiring and show the many ways mapping can have concrete impact to fight climate change. We selected the winners based on how much we believe they can avert further warming, as illustrated by sequestration of CO2 in new forests (our first prize winner) or in kelp ecosystems (awarded third prize), or by reducing the potential emissions of forest fires by predicting fire propagation and thereby helping to stop fires faster (the runner-up).”“I would like to highlight the many entries that were about fighting the consequences of climate change that are already happening. The strain on water resources was especially present with impacts on agriculture and on the water supply of entire communities that are struggling to access water all year around. This shows how mapping enables people to gather relevant information that leads to actions to make communities and the environment more resilient to the change.”
A better future for all requires action now. Learn more about the Pix4D Climate Contest and sign up to be notified about the next impactful contest.
