Training and courses
Free and low-cost courses in GIS, statistics, planning and nonprofit skills.
21 resources
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ConservationTraining (TNC)
Free courses built by The Nature Conservancy with IUCN, UNDP, UNEP and others, many in several languages: GIS, Open Standards, coral reef resilience, Red List and Green Status assessment, and Indian Country 101 for anyone working with tribes. A free account, then no charge
Take the free GIS and Open Standards courses, then look for the language version you need
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NonprofitReady
Free nonprofit skills courses
Train new staff in fundraising and finance basics without any training budget
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Acumen Academy
Social-sector courses
Take social-sector courses when the gap is management rather than ecology
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Codecademy
R, Python and statistics courses
Learn enough R or Python to stop waiting on someone else for every analysis
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QGIS training manual
Free GIS training
Work through the official training manual instead of following scattered video tutorials
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edX
MOOCs, including land management
Audit a university course free, and pay only if you actually need the certificate
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Tropical Biology Association
Field courses and statistics guides
Apply for a field course in Africa or Asia, which is where its training happens
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Center for Wildlife Studies
Wildlife science short courses
Take a short course on one wildlife method rather than committing to a degree
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Kinship Conservation Fellows
Market-based conservation fellowship
Apply if you want to argue conservation in market terms, which most training ignores
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UNLEASH
SDG innovation labs
Send a young colleague to an innovation lab and let them return with a network
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VolunteerPro
Volunteer-management training
Train whoever manages volunteers, since that role is usually learned by accident
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ASAP partner resources
Asian Species Action Partnership resources
Use ASAP resources and its partner list when working on Southeast Asian species
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WildTeam Training
Online courses for conservationists in grant writing and in conservation leadership, four weeks at two to three hours a week, with a bursary for anyone who cannot afford the fee. Cohort dates are announced by newsletter
Ask about the bursary rather than assuming the fee rules you out
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Conservation Leadership Programme project manuals
Free manuals on fundraising and proposal writing for field teams
Download the fundraising and proposal manuals free, whether or not you apply for an award
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MOOC Conservation
Free certifying courses on protected area management for rangers, researchers and managers, taught in French with some English. Finish them all and pass the exam and Senghor University of Alexandria awards an actual diploma
Work through every MOOC and the exam if you want a credential, not just knowledge
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Google for Nonprofits AI training
Three free short AI courses aimed at fundraising, creative work and workflows, plus a free AI usage policy builder
Use the free policy builder to write an AI policy before staff start improvising
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IUCN Academy
Free self-paced introductory courses in several languages including Arabic, French and Spanish, low-cost specialized courses, and paid hybrid professional certificates. Discounts for IUCN members and partial scholarships for nationals of least-developed and developing countries. Certificates are digital, not accredited
Start with a free introductory course in your own language before paying for a certificate
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Top Conservation Skills
What employers actually ask for, from an analysis of nearly 30,000 conservation job adverts across 100-plus countries. 41% of postings want communications skills, which is worth knowing before you plan any staff training
Plan staff training around what postings actually demand, starting with communications
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Institute for Conservation Leadership
Virtual workshops on running meetings that work, supporting a collaboration already underway, and emerging conservation topics. Facilitation and process skills rather than technical ones. Strict no-refund policy
Book a facilitation workshop when the problem is the meeting rather than the ecology
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MPhil in Conservation Leadership, Cambridge
A one-year cohort master's with a professional placement, not a short course. Placement partners have included Fauna & Flora. The most time-intensive option on this page, for a credentialed career pivot rather than a discrete skill
Consider it only if you can stop working for a year, and study the placement partners
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Project Dragonfly
Part-time 35-credit master's degrees from Miami University, finishable in two and a half to five years while working, based either at a partner US zoo or botanical garden or around international field expeditions. Shorter graduate certificates too
Get a master's without relocating, based at a zoo or built around field expeditions