For one of our zoogreenhouse team members who is in Madagascar currently, the research he did beforehand had him seeing many papers discussing “pioneer species” - plants that are early to root and can survive challenging landscapes. In working with your Zoo’s partners at Planet Madagascar, Zoo Horticulturalist Ben Martin walked their team through what they should think of when forest comes to mind: Forests are built over time - any one tree is not the goal, and just as in life, their death in the forest is important too. The roots loosen soil, the leaves and bark fertilize the ground, the seeds set up the next generation, and the standing dead tree becomes habitats for birds and small primates here, who in moving through the landscape can add far-away seeds to the soil in their feces which diversifies the plant species while steadily adding more fertility to the soil 🌳 As we talk this through, a concept begins to emerge - instead of planting all the forest where we want it, we need...