Themes

Here are a few examples of the themes covered in our educational content.

Biodiversity (species, ecosystems, etc.)

  • The many ecosystems of Makay and Sulawesi (identification and characterisation)
  • Interdependence between environments and species (link between the conditions of an environment and the species it shelters (gallery forests, dry forests, lakes, cliffs, mangroves, etc.).
  • Biodiversity and climate (link between vegetation, temperature and rainfall)
  • The notion of endemism (75% of Madagascar’s fauna is endemic)
  • Classification of species (based on a collection of Makay animals)
  • Tropical animal species (based on a few representative animals from Makay and Sulawesi (lemur, fossa, crocodile, chameleon, boa, zebu, tenrec, cricket, scorpion, scolopendre, phasme, hydrosaure, anoa, couscous, etc.).
  • The origin of Madagascar’s biodiversity (link with geology)

Geology and geography

  • Erosion (lavakas, canyons,…)
  • The formation of the Makay sandstone massif in Madagascar or the Matarombeo karstic massif in Sulawesi
  • The geological history of Madagascar (plate tectonics)
  • Latitude and Longitude (finding your way on a map, locating GPS points, etc.)
  • The water cycle and the importance of the forest

Man and his environment

  • The origins of human settlement in Madagascar
  • Man and the forest (reasons for and impact of deforestation)
  • Colonisation and decolonisation of Madagascar
  • What do cave paintings and tombs tell us?
  • Zebu, the Malagasy bank
  • Beliefs and taboos (dahalo, cult of the dead)

Nature conservation

  • What is the ecological footprint? How is it calculated?
  • What is ecotourism? How can it be set up?
  • The urgent need to preserve biodiversity? (why?)
  • The threats facing the Makay (deforestation, poaching, illegal trade in precious woods, etc.) and Sulawesi (deforestation, overexploitation of the soil, plastic pollution, dynamite fishing, etc.).
  • How do we achieve protected area status? How to get it? What does this mean in practice?
  • Setting up a nursery (choice of species, collection of seeds, first sowings, planting in pots, shading, choice of areas for replanting and replanting).

Scientific expedition

  • Organising an expedition
  • The objectives of the mission
  • Prospecting, excavation and archaeological techniques (paintings and burials…)
  • Field naturalist professions (research protocols and procedures for mammalogists, entomologists, ornithologists, botanists, etc.).
  • How does GPS work?
  • Risk assessment (climatic, food, etc.)
  • How do you move around in difficult-to-access terrain?