Restoring Forests With Foxholes in Madagascar
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Provided by: Ecosia|Published on: January 7, 2026
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Scientist Reviewed This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this video from Ecosia, students will learn about foxholes, a forest restoration technique where seeds are planted in a hole, rather than planting trees that have been raised in a nursery.
- Students will understand why this method is beneficial in Ivohiboro, Madagascar, how the project is going, and the benefits the project provides for the community.
Subjects: Biology, Earth and Space Sciences
Authors: Fatima Gonzalez-Torres, Linnea Andersson, Antonia Burchard-Levine
Region: Africa
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This video uses multiple filming styles to give students a full picture of the landscape.
- The video also features graphics that help illustrate the technique.
Prerequisites
- It may benefit students to have an understanding of the relationship between trees, climate change, and wildfires.
Differentiation & Implementation
- While students watch, it may be beneficial to display a map that shows Madagascar.
- In instances where people in the video are not speaking English, teachers may want to pause the video to give all readers a chance to read the subtitles on the screen.
- To demonstrate their understanding, students can write or describe when it is more useful to use foxholes and when it is more useful to use typical reforestation methods.
- To help make connections to climate change, teachers can explain how trees sequester carbon and how this impacts climate change. This video can help explain the concept to students.
- Teachers can use this resource to show how deforestation in Madagascar is measured.
This video resource highlights the novel foxhole technique being used for forest restoration in Madagascar. Throughout the video, tradeoffs are discussed between using foxholes versus other reforestation techniques, such as planting saplings. One small criticism is that this resource is focused on reforestation and reducing wildfires, but fails to connect these to climate change. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
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Resource Type and Format
About the Partner Provider
Ecosia
Ecosia is the search engine that plants trees with its ads revenue. They have a YouTube Channel that has educational content as well to further their mission: to regenerate degraded landscapes, support rural communities and establish climate justice, one tree at a time.
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
