Oliver Bolton

Foxholes: The Simple, Brilliant Reforestation Method You’ve Probably Never Heard Of 🌳

In Madagascar, Ecosia and The Phoenix Conservancy are restoring forests using a method called 'foxholes' and it doesn’t involve planting saplings.

It immediately reminded me of half-moon Earth bunds. Simple, effective and surprisingly powerful.

Instead of raising delicate nursery saplings and hoping they survive in harsh conditions, foxholes mimic how forests regenerate naturally.

Seeds are scattered into shallow basins, where they compete naturally for light, water and nutrients, just as they would in the wild.

The results?

⤷ 30x more trees
⤷ 2x the plant diversity
⤷ 30% lower cost than traditional tree planting

This technique rebuilds ecosystems, supports local livelihoods and creates space for endangered species like the ring-tailed lemur to return.

Foxholes build on restoration techniques developed in Central and South America, especially ‘applied nucleation’, which is the practice of planting small patches of forest to kickstart natural regeneration.

And while the method isn’t new, Ecosia is helping it scale, connecting partners across continents, from Madagascar to Brazil.

Effective restoration doesn’t need to be high-tech or high-cost.

Sometimes, all it takes is a shallow hole and a deeper understanding of nature.

One rooted in the same wisdom that has guided indigenous land stewards for generations: work with nature, not against it.


#NatureRestoration #Rewilding #TreePlanting #Biodiversity #Conservation
🎞️ Ecosia

A rare and truly special moment: two white storks celebrate the arrival of new life.

These iconic birds, known for their distinctive clattering bills (sound on! 🔊) and graceful flights, were once a familiar part of the UK’s wildlife.

This webcam at a nest in Bohuslavice (Czech Republic) has offered fascinating insights into stork life, capturing scenes of nesting, mating and even foreign storks visiting and using the nest.

Closer to home, efforts to restore white storks are gaining momentum. I recently visited Keep it Wild CIC at Rewilding Coombeshead in Devon, where they’re breeding storks that have already been successfully reintroduced at Knepp Wilding in Sussex.

The return of white storks signals the successful restoration of vital habitats like wetlands and grasslands, supporting a wider range of species and strengthening ecosystem resilience.

Now, Citizen Zoo is working to reintroduce storks in London, aiming to connect fragmented populations in Sussex and Surrey and drive a national comeback.

If you haven’t already, check out the film ‘Wilding’. It beautifully tells the story of Knepp’s rewilding journey, including the return of the white stork.

It’s a must-watch! 🍿

🌍 Earth’s MRI scan has begun and a new era of nature monitoring is here

European Space Agency - ESA’s Biomass satellite is now in orbit and the first images are spectacular.

Using powerful P-band radar (capable of seeing through clouds and even dense jungle canopies), it’s mapping something we've never seen from space before:

The woody biomass of our forests, the trunks, branches and stems that hold most of the carbon.

Why this is a game changer:

✅ First-of-its-kind radar
✅ Global forest scans every 6 months
✅ Carbon mapping on a planetary scale
✅ Even revealing what’s beneath the forests, sand and ice

Already it’s uncovered:

📍 The winding Beni River in Bolivia, deep within the Amazon rainforest

🌋 Volcanoes hidden beneath the canopy in Brazil and Indonesia’s Halmahera

💧 Wetlands and savannas in Gabon and ancient riverbeds in the Sahara

❄️ And even glacier flows and buried valleys in Antarctica’s Transantarctic Mountains

It’s like giving the planet an MRI scan.

And it’s doing something we urgently need, measuring what matters in the fight to protect and restore nature.

Over the next 5 years, Biomass will help answer some of the biggest questions in climate and nature science:

⤷ How much is being lost?
⤷ Where is nature bouncing back?
⤷ Where is carbon stored in forests?

This goes beyond just forests and will help us with climate stability, smarter policies and the data we need for a nature-positive future.

🔍 Should we be measuring biomass alongside GDP?


#NatureTech #Biomass #Forests #NatureRestoration #EarthObservation
🎥 European Space Agency

French Polynesia Just Created the World’s Largest Marine Sanctuary

At the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, French Polynesia made history.

President Moetai Brotherson announced the creation of a marine sanctuary stretching across 4.8 million km² (nearly twice the size of Argentina).

What’s inside this new ‘blue haven’?

🔒 1.08 million km² now under high or full protection, no fishing, no extraction
🎣 186,000 km² reserved for traditional artisanal fishing
📈 And by 2026, a further 500,000 km² will be upgraded to full protection

But what does this actually achieve for nature?

🐠 Ecosystems gain resilience to climate shocks
🦈 Sharks can rebound without longlines or bycatch
🪸 Coral reefs and deep-sea habitats get space to regenerate
🐋 Whales and turtles get vast, uninterrupted migration corridors

“Polynesians have always protected these waters,” said Brotherson, highlighting their cultural leadership that goes beyond just conservation.

And it has community backing: 92% of residents support the protection.

The move also elevates France’s ocean protection to 78% of its waters, a new global benchmark.

The ocean just got some more much needed room to breathe and recover.


#OceanConservation #MPA #UNOceanConference #BluePlanet #MarineLife #NaturePositive
🎥 Planet Earth

If there’s one project that gives me real hope its the UN World Food Programme WFP’s regreening of the African Sahel Region.

They are helping creating a monumental great green wall that spreads across the entire continent of Africa, harvesting rainwater, increasing food security and regenerating ecosystems.

This video gives us an update on the amazing transformation happening in the country of Niger today.

Here's why I love it:

🌱 Landscape Scale Regeneration: In just over a decade, the Great Green Wall has transformed the barren Sahel region into fertile lands that now sustain countless communities.

💧Ancient Techniques, Modern Impact: Using ancient methods like ‘half moon bunds’ the project captures scarce rainwater to rejuvenate soils and restore life to desertified lands.

🌍 Climate and Biodiversity Resilience: Beyond combating desertification, the project builds rich biodiversity, creating ecosystems that mitigate harsh climate impacts and support local wildlife.

🌾 Economic and Nutritional Transformation: Introducing diverse, native plant species has decreased dependence on food aid, enhancing economic self-reliance and has greatly improved health and nutrition within communities.

🤝 Scalable Success and Community Empowerment: With over 500 projects in Niger alone, the initiative showcases how scalable solutions, powered by community involvement and global partnerships, can drive sustainable development and environmental restoration across Africa.

This project shows us the amazing and tangible outcomes when communities, governments, and organisations like the World Food Programme come together with a vision of regeneration and resilience.

At Earthly we are talking to organisations like Justdiggit exploring how we can contribute to and accelerate this incredible landscape recovery. 🌍

(Credit: Andrew Millison)