In May we announced the recipients of our 2024 grant and awards programs. Check out our blog posts featuring the recipients to learn more about these programs and this year’s honorees:

Re:Wild Grant Award: TDARFAC and The Mad Dog Initiative (MDI) joined forces to apply for a grant from leading national environmental conservation organization Re:Wild to support the reforestation corridor objective in Madagascar. The $19,980 joint grant was awarded to both organizations, and it has allowed both MDI and TDARFAC to replant 30 hectares (approximately 74 acres) of forest in Madagascar and reforest an additional 63 hectares (about 155.5 acres) of Malagasy forest.

International Chameleon Day Celebration: Wildlife Madagascar created International Chameleon Day to raise awareness of this threatened species. Celebrated annually on May 9, TDARFAC celebrated the new holiday by educating future conservationists about this incredible species through chameleon-themed educational events.

Youth Environmental Education Program Event: Mitsinjo Youth Club, nicknamed “Ankizin’ny Ala” (which translates to Children of the Forest), wanted to contribute to reforesting the area, which includes the wildlife corridor at the Ecovision Village site. The Youth Club, along with Ecovision Village, MDI and TDARFAC collaborated to host the organization’s first youth environmental education program event.

Dr. Ross Shares Career Insights on NIU Panel: Earlier this year Dr. Ross reflected on her career in anthropology at a Northern Illinois University (NIU) career panel. At the event she shared her experience founding and executive directing TDARFAC as well as insights she learned throughout her career so far.

Ketsa Conservation Field Trip: TDARFAC took a student group on an overnight field trip to Andasibe, which was an unforgettable adventure for the students from Ambohidroa Public Primary School in Antananarivo. In Mitsinjo Forest, the students saw lemurs in the wild for the first time! At Ecovision Village, the students learned about the reforestation corridor project, got hands-on with seedling maintenance, and discovered sustainable practices like beekeeping.

Ambohitantely Field Site Visit: TDARFAC was invited to visit Dr. Steve Goodman’s field site, called Ambohitantely, to learn about the unique and successful compost method his team developed and to see the work of his organization, Vahatra. The TDARFAC team visited with Steve’s colleague Dr. Achille Raselimanana – who was also one of the people who pioneered the compost method.

Season 2 Malagasy Reforestation Replanting Now in Progress: TDARFAC’s corridor project connecting Andasibe-Mantadia National Park and Analamazoatra Special Reserve is in full swing!

 In June the team revised the tree tagging protocol, revisited the seedling mortality methodology, visited the first 30 hectares replanted last year, and started planting the next 30 hectares while Dr. Ross was in Madagascar. Pioneer species and lemur food trees (like Abrahamia ditimena, an important food resource for lemurs) are being planted as part of the reforestation effort.