As the year comes to a close, I imagine many of you are like me, finally finding a moment to pause and reflect. For all of us who are part of the SMART-EarthRanger Conservation Alliance (SERCA), 2025 marked a turning point in how we approach conservation together. 

In October, we announced the launch of SERCA at the World Conservation Congress. For me and many others involved, that moment was less about the announcement itself and more about what it represented. It reflected years of working together, building your trust, and a decision to move from parallel efforts to building something together in service of protecting people and the planet. 

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Over the past few months, I have heard excitement from many of you about bringing together the strengths of SMART and EarthRanger into a single, unified system. Less duplication and confusion – we all understand how meaningful this will be on the ground. What I do not want lost, however, is what sits around the technology. SERCA is about building training, long-term support, and shared ways of working that help conservation teams continuously improve their work.

At ACT Con, we shared more about what this transition looks like in practice and what comes next. We talked about how the tools teams rely on today will continue to meet their needs, our commitment to clear and ongoing communication, continued support, and how we will help teams navigate this change with key stakeholders. Importantly, we also emphasized that your data is safe. The message is simple: we are here to support you now, and we will continue to be here as this work evolves. If you were not able to join us in person, please watch the SERCA videos to learn more about our vision and how we are approaching this transition.

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The road ahead will see us focus on building a strong foundation for SERCA across web, desktop, and mobile. We are actively investing and building SERCA Desktop, continuing integration of existing components, and carefully working to ensure data continuity across systems. We are also starting by addressing the most immediate gaps between SMART and EarthRanger, focusing on the workflows teams rely on every day. This work is about laying the right foundations first so the system can evolve responsibly over time. The scale of what we are building is significant, and we are approaching it with care.

If you are interested in helping shape what comes next, I invite you to join the SERCA beta program at serca.org/beta. Your participation will help guide how these tools develop and how they support conservation work over time.

Your commitment and dedication drive us, inspire us, and reinforce the urgency of getting this work right. Your trust is not taken lightly. Thank you for all you do on behalf of the natural world and all who depend on it. I wish you a period of rest and renewal as the year comes to a close, and a productive, collaborative year ahead.