A new tool is opening fresh possibilities for how we understand and protect ecosystems. eDNA Explorer, a startup that uses environmental DNA and AI to analyze the genetic traces organisms leave behind in water, soil, and air, makes it possible to monitor biodiversity at a scale and precision that traditional fieldwork often cannot achieve.
Julie Stanford, co-founder of eDNA Explorer, serves as a lecturer and Science & Engineering Education Fellow in the Computer Science Department at Stanford University’s School of Engineering. Her background in user experience design and education informs her work, and now, she has brought her AI infused softwear on tour in Sweden. In September, Julie made her first stop at Innovation Park in Karlstad to present eDNA Explorer’s work and met with Sting Bioeconomy.
– eDNA gives us a way to see the invisible, we’re not just looking for the species we recognize; but also fungi, microbes, and insects that play crucial roles in ecosystem health. You can start monitoring species across your land, overlay geospatial data, and then start using AI to assess risk and resilience. Julie says.
From Research to Practice
Originally spun out of research at University of California at Santa Cruz, in a project where Julie’s user research and experience design agency Sliced Bread Design was involved, eDNA Explorer was designed to help overcome a major challenge: enormous and complex biodiversity datasets that often remain locked in academic research. The platform makes these datasets more accessible and actionable, integrating geospatial analysis and AI-powered tools to support decision-making.
Already applied in several case studies across the US, Canada, Rwanda and Germany, the technology is helping inform restoration and monitoring projects for a variety of organizations including government agencies, conservation groups and oil exploration companies. Today, a large percentage of restoration projects fail to achieve their goals. Julie highlights how eDNA Explorer can provide a cost-effective solution for restoration projects, enabling them to achieve better financial and ecological outcomes.
She explains that that while today environmental assessment is like “searching for your keys only under the streetlight”, eDNA Explorer instead offers us a way to monitor the small things that are we cannot see like fungi, pathogens, algal blooms & microbial shifts. Often these can give us a heads-up before any visible damage has erupted in an ecosystem.
– So then you can start introducing nature-based solutions for management that people might not have considered before, because we couldn’t understand the way that whole ecosystem worked, Julie explains.
Nature based solutions
Nature based solutions can often be a more cost-effective way to solve problems, and eDNA Explorer can offer additional insights on benefits we might not have foreseen. Julie gives the example of ponds established on land grazed by cows, that have now taken on a new role in the landscape.
– We have some local, county agencies that are doing a lot of pond monitoring. The ponds are great for the cows, but they also have turned into amazing environments for the endangered red legged frog that has had a lot of its habitat destroyed. Now, they’ve started sampling the ponds to show that the red legged frog population and other endangered and threatened species are living in the ponds, and then they use that to get money for additional pond restoration. So it’s kind of this win win for industry and for conservationists, Julie explains.
Opportunities for Sweden
In the discussion that followed Julie’s lecture at Innovation Park in Karlstad, it was highlighted that this mix of cost-efficiency and conservation, where both species and livelihoods are protected, could be particularly relevant for work in Sweden’s forests. With around 70 percent of the country covered in woodland, the need for reliable biodiversity data is central to both environmental policy and forest management.
– I think there are a few things that are really exciting about Sweden. One is that it’s this lovely mix of forests and lakes and oceans here. And it seems like there’s a interest in understanding what areas should or shouldn’t be conserved and or restored. And secondly, it seems like a really interesting opportunity to see how financial priorities and ecological priorities can be less at loggerheads. Because I really believe that some of the fights that you’re seeing now between, forestry companies and then EU regulations, I really think that there’s ways to manage that forest land that is going to meet the needs of both sides, says Julie.
For Sweden, where species reporting is often manual and time-consuming, and where new EU legislation might require additional land to be put under protection, eDNA could potentially ease the burden on landowners and agencies alike. Sting Bioeconomy sees strong potential in the approach.
– We hope to support Julie in building connections and finding opportunities here in Värmland and beyond, her visit showed us how eDNA Explorer could bring real value to Sweden’s environmental and bioeconomy sectors. says Victor Isaksen, CEO of Sting Bioeconomy.
Although some might be sceptical about the use of new technologies, Julie is optimistic. She explains that eDNA has been researched and used in academia for over 25 years, and points to how many organisations and research groups are already using it here in Sweden as well. So far – it has however been difficult to map out and get an overview of the results – and this is where the software Julie and her team has developed comes in. As for what comes next, she remains both ambitious and grounded. When used responsibly, eDNA has the power to really transform how we manage ecosystems. After yet another successful encounter between Silicon Valley and BioEco Valley, we look forward to what’s to come!
