DURHAM, N.C. 鈥 The Nicholas School Executive Education program will offer a course titled 鈥淒rones for Conservation Research鈥 June 26-28 at Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort, N.C.

Participants will have the opportunity to learn why and how to use Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles (UAV)/ Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS) 鈥 also known as drones 鈥 for conservation research projects. The workshop will include seminars, field trips, socials and equipment demos from the .

David Johnston, assistant professor of the practice of marine conservation ecology at Duke鈥檚 Nicholas School of the Environment, will lead the course.

鈥淒rones open new horizons in conservation and science by letting us see and do things we couldn鈥檛 otherwise, in places that may be too remote, dangerous, or difficult to access through other means,鈥 said Johnston, who also serves as the executive director of the Marine Robotics and Remote Sensing Lab.

The workshop targets environmental professionals 鈥 including academic lab managers or project leads from NGOs and government agencies, consultants, technical specialists or participants in collaborative projects. The course has potential application to diverse environmental research fields such as animal management/conservation, coastal management/river and flood assessment, ecology, forestry, terrain monitoring, expeditions and adventure guiding, geomorphology, and resiliency projects.

Cost for the course is $1,100.

Participants also have the option to add an additional package that will help participants prepare for the FAA Remote Pilot Knowledge Test via two online study sessions and half a day of in-person study time before taking the exam on June 29. The cost is $350.

For more information and to register, go to .

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