Developing the NC-UK Environmental Data Science Toolbox together

The Environmental Data Science Toolbox is a shared, open resource, designed to improve the discoverability, accessibility, and reuse of environmental data science methods. As development continues, the toolbox is bringing together methods, data, and communities to support more collaborative and reproducible environmental research.

What is the Environmental Data Science Toolbox

The toolbox is developed as part of the NC-UK (National Capability for UK Challenges) programme, and is built around three main goals:

1. Spotlight: Increase the visibility and usability of environmental data science methods by curating and documenting them for both internal and external communities.
2. Connect: Link methods with their associated data, metadata, computational environments, and user communities to reduce fragmentation.
3. Transform: Enable more collaborative, FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable), and integrative approaches across multiple disciplines.

Contributing methods to the Toolbox

We actively seek contributions from environmental researchers from UKCEH and other organisations. Our Contributing Guidelines explain how to add methods and share your expertise. Contributing to the toolbox can increase the visibility and impact of our research, while supporting collaboration across environmental data science communities. Contributions can also be incorporated into future project and funding proposals.

Progress so far

The toolbox continues to evolve through collaboration with environmental science and data science communities within and beyond UKCEH.

In July 2025, 55 stakeholders, including 17 from UKCEH, participated in a Community Conversation to help shape this initiative. Attendees included statisticians, data scientists, ecologists, and environmental modellers, bringing a wide of expertise and perspectives. 

Feedback highlighted a strong demand for a trusted, centralised hub where users can discover and explore data science methods. Key priorities included detailed metadata, intuitive search functionality, interactive examples, best practice guidelines, and links to relevant datasets.

During 2026, the team has focused on strengthening the foundations needed for long-term sustainability and community trust. This work includes clearer guidance for publishing methods, EEDI (equality, equity, diversity, and inclusion) and accessibility best practices, and responsible approaches to cloud computing. 

To widen participation across varied communities, the toolbox has also moved to Jupyter Book v2. This upgrade enables faster-running methods, richer interactive content, and more flexible publishing workflows. While the toolbox remains in the prototype stage, significant progress has been made, and we are keen to gather ongoing feedback to help shape future development. 

Join the conversation in our Community Q&A on GitHub. You can also star the repository to follow its progress and future releases.

Looking ahead

Three key areas have been identified for future development:
1.    Exploring deeper integration with live interactive environments for running and adapting methods. 
2.    Incorporating AI search functionality and querying. 
3.    Improving connectivity and interoperability with other platforms. 

We are excited about the progress made so far and invite the community to continue shaping the toolbox’s future direction.

Explore the toolbox today.

Acknowledgements

A big thank you to the toolbox team - Susan Jarvis, Mike Hollaway, Jez Carter, Michael Tso, Helen Rawsthorne, Taylor Butler-Eldridge, the toolbox contributors, and to stakeholders across UKCEH and beyond for their continued feedback and support in developing the Environmental Data Science Toolbox.