Connecting with the natural world Michael Gross  Current Biology  Volume 24, Issue 14, Pages R629-R632 (July 2014) DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.07.005 Copyright © 2014 Terms and Conditions

Forest connection: Listening devices built from discarded smartphones and solar panels can alert authorities in real time to poaching and illegal logging activity in their vicinity. Here the founder of the organisation, Topher White, adjusts a device installed for demonstration purposes. In the field, the instruments are placed higher up in the trees and camouflaged. (Photo: courtesy of Rainforest Connection (https://rfcx.org/).) Current Biology 2014 24, R629-R632DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2014.07.005) Copyright © 2014 Terms and Conditions

Taking off: Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly popular in ecology and conservation, helping both to prevent criminal damage to the environment and to shepherd animals like this elephant away from harm. (Photo: courtesy of ESCAPE Foundation (http://www.escapefoundation.org/) Current Biology 2014 24, R629-R632DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2014.07.005) Copyright © 2014 Terms and Conditions

Healthy growth: Volunteer teams connected via the My Tree Tracker app help to monitor the health of the ‘urban forest’ in several US cities. (Photo: courtesy of Gitte Venicx/Earthwatch Urban Forest Program (http://www.mytreetracker.org/).) Current Biology 2014 24, R629-R632DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2014.07.005) Copyright © 2014 Terms and Conditions

From above: Satellite images help researchers to monitor the health of crucial ecosystems, such as coastal mangrove wetlands. This false composite Landsat 5 image shows Mnazi Bay, between Tanzania and Mozambique. (Image: Clare Duncan, Zoological Society of London.) Current Biology 2014 24, R629-R632DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2014.07.005) Copyright © 2014 Terms and Conditions