LEWISBURG, W.Va. (WCHS) — You never know what you’ll see on a trail camera. That adrenaline rush for hunters aside, this technology can also be a big help to wildlife biologists.
There’s one group in West Virginia asking for assistance next year.
“Appalachian Headwaters is starting the Greenbrier Valley Wildlife Project in 2026. This is kind of our first big push to do a community science project, and community science basically just refers to anyone who can collect data, anyone who can help process that data and be a part of a scientific study, regardless of their education level or their background,” ecology director Merri Collins said. “This project is going to use trail cameras. We’re using them to basically see what wildlife are living there, in what part of our community, or in what county and if they’re utilizing these habitats differently, if we’re seeing any rare wildlife on people’s properties.”
These added cameras will especially be helpful considering that 90% of the state is private land.
Collins said this project should also benefit landowners.
“I feel like this is just a great opportunity for people to directly engage in science on their own property, and to learn more about what’s going on their land,” Collins said. “We’ll be able to provide information on how to manage your landscape with native plants and how to manage it for wildlife as well.”
The goal in year one was for six volunteers, but 20 have already signed up.
“We provide the camera for you unless you already have a wildlife camera that you would like to use instead of the camera that we purchase,” Collins said. “We require for this project to participate a minimum of a $50 a year donation, which helps to cover the cost of the camera. Also, it helps to cover the cost of gas since we’re going to be commuting to these places to pick up the SD cards, change out the batteries and just do an equipment check every three months to make sure everything’s working properly and the camera is taking data the way that it should.”
These cameras can spot plenty of wildlife if properly placed.
“We have 16 cameras out right now across our three real properties and we’ve seen a lot of activity with wildlife,” Collins said. “In particular, black bears this time of year. They’re really active. They’re fattening up for winter, so we’ve gotten a lot of really fun videos of bears. We’ve gotten a lot of deer, obviously, some kind of funny deer videos as well.”
If you’re interested in helping out with the project, you can send a message or scan a QR code on the Appalachian Headwaters Facebook page. Collins says the sooner, the better.
“It would be great to get your response in on the survey link by the first or second week of November, so I can seeing what that looks like as far as planning and logistics, especially drive times and factoring in where these different people are living in relation to Lewisburg,” Collins explained. “I’m hoping to put cameras out on everyone who signed up for the project on their property in January 2026.”
High school and college internships are also offered.
“We’re trying to get people to see themselves as part of nature versus kind of a separate, outside piece. I think when we do that, we end up getting people to care a lot more about conservation and environmental issues in their community,” Collins said.
