How the Wyss Academy for Nature turns field data into live insights through explorer.land

The Wyss Academy for Nature is a Swiss organization focused on bridging the gap between scientific knowledge and on-the-ground action, working through regional Hubs to co-design and implement practical solutions for sustainable conservation and human well-being.

Tracking how semi-circular bunds restore degraded rangelands in Northern Kenya with the Wyss Academy for Nature.

In Northern Kenya’s semi-arid landscapes, the Wyss Academy for Nature is working hand in hand with local communities to restore degraded rangelands and revive ecosystems that sustain both people and wildlife.

At the heart of this work are thousands of semi-circular bunds — small, crescent-shaped earth structures that capture rainwater and bring vegetation back to life.

What makes this initiative stand out is the Wyss Academy’s commitment to turn restoration into shared learning: carefully monitoring, evaluating, and sharing results so that others can replicate and adapt the approach.

To make this vision tangible, the Wyss Academy partnered with OpenForests to bring live data from the field to the public. Through the explorer.land public projects map, anyone can now explore the data behind the restoration — seeing how water, soil, and vegetation respond when science, community action, and technology come together.

Key Insights

Integrating field sensors and remote sensing creates a fuller picture

Combining on-ground soil data, weather stations, camera traps, and satellite imagery makes ecosystem recovery measurable and relatable.

explorer.land makes live data visible and meaningful

Turning field measurements into graphs that everyone can understand.

Transparency builds trust

Public visualization strengthens relationships between local people, partners, and funders.

The context

Restoring the multi-purpose corridors

Northern Kenya’s rangelands are vast and vital — home to pastoralist communities, elephants, and a wealth of biodiversity. Yet decades of overgrazing, soil erosion, and erratic rainfall have left large areas barren, while growing settlements and roads fragment traditional wildlife routes.

To reconnect these ecological and social systems, the Wyss Academy for Nature launched a multi-purpose corridor initiative across Laikipia, Isiolo, and Samburu counties. The goal: to restore degraded land, revive water flows, and maintain wildlife migration routes — restoring ecosystems and supporting livelihoods.

With the Wyss Academy for Nature’s partners, JustDiggit and Green Earth Warriors, communities are reviving an age-old technique: digging semi-circular bunds that slow surface runoff, allow rain to infiltrate the soil, and stimulate natural regeneration. In a restored (compared to a degraded) landscape, the increase in vegetation cover and soil water content enhances evaporation and atmospheric moisture content, which can lead to shallow cloud formation and sometimes even deep convection, creating a positive feedback on precipitation recycling.

Started as a local experiment in 2023, the project expanded within months from 5,000 to more than 130,000 bunds, covering nearly 800 hectares and involving over 500 households.

As vegetation began to return, new patterns appeared — patches of green and elephants visible even from space.

To track this transformation and communicate it beyond the field, the Wyss Academy turned to OpenForests to make the impact visible, traceable, and shareable in real time.

Why live monitoring?

Conventional reporting often falls short of showing what’s really happening on the ground. Restoration is slow, complex, and sensitive to local conditions. Without visible data, it’s difficult to know what’s working — or to convince funders and communities that progress is real.

explorer.land, developed by OpenForests, bridges that gap. It combines maps, indicators, and storytelling tools to make nature-based projects transparent and interactive.

For the Wyss Academy team, it offered exactly what was needed:

Integration of multiple data sources — soil sensors, weather stations, and satellite imagery
Visual graphs that make complex data clear and intuitive
Public accessibility to foster trust, learning, and engagement

Today, anyone can visit the project’s monitoring page on explorer.land to explore maps, timelines, and sensor readings — seeing recovery unfold season by season, and understanding the science behind it.

Data collection and scope

To understand how restoration influences soil, vegetation, and climate, the Wyss Academy uses complementary monitoring techniques, combining ground-based measurements with satellite observation for a complete picture of change.

1. Soil sensors: measuring water below the surface

Soil sensors were installed both inside and outside the bunds to capture comparative data on moisture and temperature at multiple depths (every 10 cm). These measurements reveal how effectively the bunds retain water and how soil conditions evolve after rainfall.

2. Weather stations: tracking local climate conditions

Weather stations were installed across the corridor to monitor temperature, humidity, wind, and rainfall. These stations help link ground conditions to broader climatic patterns and provide essential context for interpreting changes in vegetation and water.

3. Satellite monitoring: seeing greening from above

High-resolution satellite imagery, analyzed through NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and made visible on explorer.land, tracks how vegetation responds over time — from seasonal fluctuations to long-term restoration trends.

4. Camera and net traps: monitoring wildlife species

Seeing the results

The first measurements show a clear increase in soil moisture (infiltration) after precipitation in bunds compared to control sites — a strong indicator that the bunds are effective measures for the land to regain its ability to store water.

Over time, this improved retention supports plant growth, boosts transpiration, and may even influence local rainfall — creating a regenerative cycle that strengthens both ecosystems and livelihoods.

On explorer.land, these findings come to life through interactive maps and dynamic graphs, allowing anyone to explore trends, zoom into locations, and witness how restoration is progressing.

For the Wyss Academy’s research teams, the system provides scientific validation.
For local communities, it provides visible proof that their efforts matter, encourages knowledge transfer for upscaling, and supports the development of scientifically-based land management policies, such as grazing plans to reduce pressure on grazing areas.
And for partners worldwide, it offers a replicable framework for transparent, data-driven restoration monitoring.

explore the project

Challenges and lessons

Live monitoring in remote drylands comes with challenges: connectivity issues, sensor maintenance, and cloud cover can interrupt data flow. Yet each challenge has led to stronger design, clearer data communication, and tighter collaboration between field and tech teams.

The greatest lesson so far: monitoring is not just about data — it’s about people.
When communities can see their landscape responding through live visuals, restoration becomes tangible, personal, and collective.

By blending traditional wisdom, scientific insight, and digital transparency, the Wyss Academy and OpenForests are demonstrating that technology can amplify trust, accelerate learning, and inspire replication far beyond Kenya’s rangelands.