Smart Forests Radio

In this episode, we speak to Ed Cooper, founder of BioCap . Ed discusses developing a spatial plan and regional network to support nature-based solutions in West Berkshire, including local carbon offsetting schemes and habitat restoration, and the need for more granular data in digital mapping. Interviewers: Jennifer Gabrys and Danilo Urzedo Producer: Harry Murdoch Head to the Smart Forests Atlas...

In this episode, we speak to Dr Carlos Souza , a researcher at Imazon , the Amazon Institute of People and the Environment. Carlos discusses developing remote sensing tools to map and monitor but also predict deforestation and environmental change. He also reflects on collaborating with big tech companies, and asymmetry of access to information and digital technologies in the Amazon. Interviewers:...

In this episode, we talk to Dr Nadina Galle , ecological engineer and founder of the Internet of Nature concept and podcast . Nadina describes ways that technology can facilitate interactions between humans and nature in urban environments, from monitoring soil and tree health, to quantifying and incentivising public health impacts of spending time outside, to communicating about and across ecosys...

In this radio episode, we talk to Marcello and Eduardo Guimarães, founders of tree planting companies Mahogany Roraima and iPlantForest and designers of the Forest Bot , and Nicolas Guimarães, who is involved with developing the technologies of the machines. We discuss techniques for automating precision reforestation, relationships between private and socio-environmental projects, and using NFTs...

In this episode, we speak to Larissa Souza , a member of the communications team at Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. We discuss how monitoring technologies support conservation in the park, the dynamics of human-animal conflict and coexistence, and programmes working with local communities around sustainable agriculture, girls' education, and health. Interviewers: Danilo Urzedo and Trishant...

In this radio episode, we speak to Professor Thomas Crowther , an ecologist who leads the Crowther Lab at ETH Zürich and initiated the Restor platform. We discuss the data behind calculating and evaluating global tree cover and restoration potential, building restoration networks through online platforms, and the risks of scaling between the local and the global using AI. Interviewers: Jennifer Ga...

In this radio episode, we speak to Claudia Araújo, a forest engineer who co-manages the Xingu Seed Network (Rede de Sementes do Xingu), a seed distribution network led primarily by women and Indigenous and traditional peoples. Claudia talks with us about community mobilisations against deforestation, muvuca direct seeding approaches and communication networks, and the political challenges of doing...

We speak to Dr Daniela Hedwig , Director of the  Elephant Listening Project  in the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. We discuss the capacities of acoustic monitoring for detecting and intervening in poaching activity, building an 'elephant dictionary' based on acoustic and visual data, and data ethics in relationships between conservation project...

We speak to Letícia Leite, journalist and founder of Vem de Áudio , which supports the production of community-led podcasts by and for Indigenous and traditional peoples in the Brazilian Amazon. Letícia discusses how Indigenous media and communication networks operate as tools for knowledge-sharing and socio-political mobilizations, the challenges of unequal access to information, and the role of...

In this episode, Smart Forests researchers speak to Dr Andrea Botero , Associate Professor in the Department of Design at Aalto University in Finland. The conversation touches on Andrea's research with Open Forest at Hyytiälä Forestry Field Station, interdisciplinary practice, relationships between sensor data and stories, Finnish forest management and environmental change. Interviewers: Michelle...

We speak to Dr Jaime Paneque-Gálvez , Assistant Professor in the Center of Research in Environmental Geography at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. We discuss the use of drones for community forest monitoring and territorial defence, and the possibilities and challenges of community autonomy in using technology for political and socio-environmental goals. Interviewers: Trishant Simlai...