How AWS Cloud Tech Powers Biodiversity Research at NHM
The Natural History Museum (NHM) in London is embedding technology into the heart of its gardens.
With Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a partner, the site now operates as a live data environment, where sensors and cloud platforms capture, store and analyse information about the capital’s urban ecosystem.
The initiative turns the museum’s grounds into a functioning laboratory, where digital infrastructure supports biodiversity recovery.
“We’re incredibly excited about the switch-on of our new environmental sensor network,” says Ed Baker, Acoustic Biology Researcher at the Natural History Museum.
“This marks a major milestone in transforming our gardens into a living laboratory, helping us better understand how urban nature is changing in real time.
“With the support of Amazon Web Services, we’re now able to collect and share data at an unprecedented scale, deepening our understanding of biodiversity and drive forward science-led nature recovery in the UK’s urban spaces.”
A cloud-enabled biodiversity data ecosystem
The project centres on AWS’ ability to connect sensor networks with scalable cloud technologies.
Data from acoustic and environmental sensors installed across the gardens feeds into the NHM’s Data Ecosystem, a platform co-developed with AWS.
This system allows researchers to collect and process information efficiently, building a unified picture of how nature responds in a densely populated city environment.
The architecture reflects cloud computing’s strength in scalability.
In only 15 months, the platform has expanded by 200%, supporting higher volumes of biodiversity data without compromising speed or security.
This enables real-time analysis of environmental change, while historical records from the gardens, dating back to 1995, are digitised and integrated into the same system.
AWS’ infrastructure ensures data can be shared with scientists and community projects, supporting collaboration beyond the museum’s walls.
“We are delighted to support the Natural History Museum to transform and accelerate its scientific research and community science capabilities with the cloud,” says Hilary Tam, Sustainability Leader, Europe Middle East & Africa at Amazon Web Services.
“By building the Data Ecosystem using cloud technology the Museum’s scientists can securely store and process data from the gardens for the first time.
“This allows the Museum to turn this data into actional insights to support the UK’s urban nature recovery.
“The scientists can continue deepening their understanding of the UK’s urban diversity by using the cloud to scale-up the Data Ecosystem as more data from the gardens is collected over time.”
The combination of IoT-style sensors, acoustic monitoring, environmental DNA and advanced data analytics brings together multiple technologies into a single biodiversity platform.
This structure not only strengthens the research process but also creates pathways to deploy technology-led solutions in other cities facing similar environmental pressures.
Connecting community science with digital tools
The museum’s work is not limited to its own gardens.
By linking local observations with the Data Ecosystem, NHM scales biodiversity research across the UK.
Community science programmes such as BioBlitzes, The Big Seaweed Search and Nature Overheard feed directly into the platform.
These initiatives encourage the public to document wildlife and environmental change, enriching the dataset with diverse local perspectives.
In 2025, more than 96,000 people take part in the Nature Overheard programme, which studies how urban noise pollution affects insects.
Every contribution is uploaded into the Data Ecosystem, expanding the reach of the NHM’s research and creating evidence-based insights into biodiversity resilience.
For participants, the integration with cloud platforms means that their observations contribute to larger-scale analysis.
What might begin as a photo or sound recording in one garden becomes part of a data resource informing environmental management across urban spaces.
This approach demonstrates how modern cloud systems and sensor technology can open scientific research to non-specialists, connecting communities directly to biodiversity recovery projects.
Technology and the future of museum-led science
The partnership between AWS and the NHM illustrates how advanced digital infrastructure underpins environmental research.
Sensors generate continuous data streams, cloud platforms provide elastic scaling and security, and analytics create actionable insights.
These tools allow the museum to combine sustainability goals with a technology-first approach to scientific discovery.
The work also forms part of the NHM150 campaign, which prepares the South Kensington site for its 150th anniversary in 2031.
Plans include redeveloped gardens and expanded gallery spaces, but the technology infrastructure being built today provides the foundation for how research will continue in the years ahead.
According to Ed, who is also Co-Author of Catalysts for change: museum gardens in a planetary emergency, redeveloping gardens and museum grounds allows for the use of living plants to connect outdoor spaces with indoor exhibits.
The book highlights the importance of natural gardens: “Space for nature, and for people and nature to interact, is at a premium in urban settings and there remains a large-scale inequity in access to the services that it provides.”
By embedding sensor networks and data platforms, the NHM shows how museums can act as digital laboratories as well as cultural spaces.
The combination of cloud, IoT, acoustic analysis and DNA sequencing creates a blueprint for urban biodiversity research worldwide.
Through this partnership, the NHM and AWS demonstrate that sustainability and technology are not competing goals but mutually reinforcing.
Biodiversity recovery requires monitoring, evidence and real-time insights – and the tools of modern cloud computing and sensor systems are making that possible at scale.
