🦥You can support our work directly by becoming a member here: www.mossy.earth/ 🎁 And if you are a member already you can also gift the membership here: www.mossy.earth/platform/purchase-gift A big thank you to everyone who made it possible for us to buy this land and start developing these projects. It really would not be possible without you! We have a lot to show you in the coming year so be sure to keep an eye on the channel. - Cheers, Duarte
I think the easiest solution for the canopy bridge is to just buy a regular suspension bridge with netting on the sides and fill the bottom with leaves and twigs for the amphibians. It's gonna get real heavy, so you need good support, but I think it should work. If that's too expensive you might want to look for old hammocks and string them together end to end. They're durable enough to hold a human, so I think they should be able to hold each other and a few wet leaves and twigs. But maybe throw in some support ropes or a few cables just in case.
For the canopy bridge, reptile bridges already exists (just googled it). Or what about a tube rope or other kind of tubing so that animals can go through it as well as over it?
For canopy bridges for herps (reptiles & amphibians) using a rope that is fitted with sections of PVC pipe will work. Inside the largest diameter main pipe you insert several smaller longer pvc pipe tubes. The exterior of the outer/largest diameter PVC segments is then covered in long wraps of burlap or jute swaths and finally wrapped in natural cordage. To allow for a more stable entrance and exit point, the largest PVC pipe ends are secured with two pre drilled holes and some extra cordage. The hanging pipe is set up with a 1 to 2 inch gap (5 - 10 cm) from the trunk of the trees used to anchor the bridge. This allows reptiles and amphibians to enter the open ends and either move between the inner PVC pipe roof and the tops if the smaller internal pipe segments, or it allows animals to move inside of successively smaller pipes, keeping different species of herps able to move without predation or competition.
Could you guys consider working with the Sloth Conservation Foundation? They have a lot of experience with wildlife corridors for the canopy of rainforest
For the canopy bridges, I would attach pieces of tree bark to the rope like you did with coral for your coral project and let plant life do it's thing. Some animals are very afraid to loose the protection of leaves and crevices which could prevent them of using the bridge. It can also expose them to their natural predators like eagles and birds of prey.
@MossyEarth Would it also be an idea to use a broader bottom rope? i.e. some kind of woven net where the epiphytes can grow? Then you'd have both the cover and an easier way for smaller animals like amphibians that cannot grasp the top rope
I would think a living bridge would be a great idea too. Some animals might not take well to surfaces and textures that are foreign to them. The idea of cover might also be a must have, as the long bridgespan through open air might provide predators an easy way to pick off traversing animals. Lots of animals are intelligent enough to stop using the bridges as soon as they learn it's not a safe place. One thing to note is the fact that a truly living bridge will grow and get heavier, which could provide structural challenges. Any which way it's a fantastic project you at Mossy Earth have taken on! Thank you for all the great work you do!
About the canopy bridges, I think I might have an idea. Here at university, I have a professor that studies lianas. From someone who works in his lab, I had them explained as essentially plants that are fighting tooth and nail for more access to the sunlight. My thought is you could probably take advantage of that. By anchoring the bridge to a tree with already growing lianas, you could move some of the lianas apical meristems onto your cable. The liana, following its own biology, would then move across the cable. In the process, it would both strengthen your cable while also making it more homely for any snakes, ampibians, etc. that would want to cross. Also, I've been a member for a few months now. Thank you all for everything you do. This is so much better than an overpriced coffee.
@TheFabledSCP7000 Yes, I wasn't trying to argue that they aren't. However, the growth patterns of lianas (essentially woody vines) is usually to follow preexisting structures (trees) in order to find open light. By contrast, while trees over time will provide a better canopy, this is meant to be a quick solution. A tree could take years to reach the height necessary to provide the adequate ecological function that the team is searching for here of providing a highway for reptiles and amphibians.
It would also maybe be the easiest and cheapest solution (other than ecoducts or an entire wooden bridge etc.) when they find parts on the road where the trees are closest together and indeed let them connect via natural growth with the lianas and other creepers :)
This is a great idea. Or even a whole album of ambient sounds from different locations, rainforest, underwater/beach, woodland, etc. Every stream could support ME projects
As a tropical ecologist, I love seeing state of the art science being used in actual conservation and restoration projects. It's so common to see all these cool methods only used in research, which is still quite important, but seeing it used on actual conservation projects is really cool. From the canopy camera trapping, to the soundscapes and the enviromental DNA in Bromeliads, it's really cool seeing all these approaches to truly and thoroughly understand the diversity of the area. I was going to suggest that something you guys can implement on your secondary forest and any area that was selectively logged, is liana cuttings, it increases tree growth and can speed up succession, making land restoration a bit easier
The biocoustics could be made into long form white-noise videos/recordings for people to enjoy - it could maybe create a small revenue stream for Mossy Earth, qnd we would get to listen in on the various sounds the forest makes in different periods
Never even thought that there could be a plant species that store so much rain water that they create effectively a wetlands up high in the forest canopy. Nature is once again incredible. As well as those *very curious* bees. Like, holy bananas, I almost couldn't look at Ollie with all those fellas trying to get inside him. Makes wonder if there are any protective gear that you guys can use in such tree climbs. Canopy bridges to connect fragmented patches of forest definitely sounds like idea worth testing and implementing. Reminded about "green" bridges that builded across highways/roads to help wild animals cross them to get to the other side. Probably need to get Ollie involved in this one too, as the idea with replacing batteries in camera traps without scaling tree again looks outright genius. Cheers!
There are a lot of weird or bizarre plant species, its amazing. And about the bridges, connecting 2 already existing parts of an ecossystem is almost allways a no brainer, its not that hard and has an amazing impact, specially in genetic diversity.
In Meghalaya, an Indian state, there are many root bridges that are actually up high, somehow, that are man-made. I think studying those will provide you with valuable insights!
I don't understand how any of you were able to not only stay put while being swarmed by bees, but actually compose coherent, educational thoughts while ON CAMERA! It's true that I've lost a lot of my comfort with the outdoors and all of its creatures (growing up in Oregon was really fun!), but I would never have been capable of that. You amaze me. *Slow clap*
I'm so happy every time I see another video from you guys. Your work is absolutely revolutionary and important for the Earth, plants, animals and of course us! Thank you for your continued dedication efforts and for sharing all of the work you do. The sharing helps us all feel involved and that is really special. Much gratitude
Hi Erin! Thank you for the lovely comment :) I know it means a lot for everyone who puts in long hours to make all of this possible. It is much appreciated! - Cheers, Duarte
Member here. Consider having both a rope bridge and a log bridge. Have 2 ropes span across at least 2 different heights with mesh netting spanning between the bottom set of ropes as they cross the road. The structural bridge can be made of local fallen trees. Start to train vines around them. Bamboo half pipes to deliver water from the canopy to the bridge surface is a good idea, too. Multiple types of bridge, multiple options. Consider the animal's line-of sight as well. Does it look/feel safe to cross? Maybe put camo netting up overtop of both bridges to protect from aerial predators. Think like an arboreal mammal!
Wow, all that for just 250,000 pounds? (that's about the same as 315,000 US Dollars or 302,000 Euros, btw) It really shows that rewilding and climate change mitigation is slightly expensive, but it is much, much, much cheaper than just letting the enviromental consequences of our society building ride. It makes me wonder why people why anyone wants to ignore climate change, when we could have so much joy from fixing the problem. I'm very lucky to have a job in the climate solutions community (I'm a cartographer who makes survey maps for mega solar and wind farms in the rural United States), and I'm glad to be a supporter here and also a volunteer in climate mitigation efforts within my own community
A good idea for the canopy bridges is using a "net" like you see in playgrounds/gyms in the states. Something interwoven offers lots of surface area for all the creatures, plus TONS of space for native plants to take full advantage of the sunlight to grow their way across the gap, strengthening the bridge and providing hiding spots and water collections along the way. If they're made out of something relatively biodegradable like canvas, as the plants take over they'll create a new structure and the original bridge can be recaptured by nature.
Great video of a great project. I've never seen Saki monkeys before in nature films. Looking forward to seeing how your canopy bridges work out, allowing animals to roam across roads and other breaks in the forest canopy. Interesting that you will be pioneering in making canopy bridges that reptiles, insects and other invertebrates can use! Cheers!
It will be really interesting to see how different animals react. Hopefully we will be able to film the small animals as well as the big ones. - Cheers, Duarte
I think a good idea for the canopy bridges would be to make them out of interwoven native lianas and vines (or a safe manmade alternative) with a decent amount of gaps between them to allow for reptiles to slither between the gaps (like at 19:42) while also being thick and big enough en masse to allow for primates to cross. This along with tank bromeliads attached could allow for amphibians to slowly make their way across as well as large leaves or pads for them to jump off and catch themselves on. Thank you all for the work you are doing it is great to see the tiny wins in a field where we see such massive losses on the daily sometimes. Keep up the amazing work and hopefully you keep saving more and more species and ecosystems.
You guys were one of my main inspirations to get a degree in this field. Your videos motivate me so much and make me really appreciate what im working towards. I cant wait to one day also do this type of work. Thank you Mossy Earth.
Increíble trabajo, Ollie siempre nos motivó a trepar árboles con fines científicos. Los jóvenes de la Amazonia Norte esperamos conocerlo pronto, nos apasiona trepar árboles 💚
I love the video mounting idea to swap batteries and I also love the idea of recording the soundscapes. You could also probably create a soundscapes app that people could use and use the profits from it's sales to help fund projects too. Low cost like 2 dollar monthly subscription or something that most people wouldn't notice but could potentially benefit from every night while they sleep or something. Couple soundscape options, maybe some white/pink/brown noise and you got yourself an additional revenue stream. lots of similar things already exist, and I'm sure a lot of people would gladly switch to an app that actually benefits the environment/people instead of just some random faceless company making profits.
I was thinking of something similar like iTunes but your idea is so much better! ❤ I'd definitely sign up! Maybe they could even have some guest soundscapes from their other projects 😊
Thanks for these videos love the rainforest ones hope to see more! Whats the drought situation like now? Seems like more rain has fallen over the last week 🌳
Thank you for showing the process and not just the results. RUclips is a vital resource for people across the planet who do not have access to specific journals or have conservation/zoology degrees. This way, people can learn and at a much lower cost implement conservation efforts across the globe.
It will be a very interesting project based on some cool new science. I am very excited to show you the first batch of results when they come in. - Cheers, Duarte
As a Mossy Earth supporter (I am not a huge contributor, but give what I can) I very much appreciate the work done by Mossy Earth and very much appreciate that these videos "bring me along for the ride" sometimes to see things that I would never otherwise see. It makes me want to continue my financial support of Mossy Earth, so good on you. PS: I am happy I was not up in that tree canpoy, ut watching it safely on the ground (not to mention the sweat bees ordeal).
It has been a while... Had to rewrite this one and re-edit as well. Some of these bigger longer term videos can be a mess to make. More regular updates the next few months I hope haha - Cheers, Duarte
About the canopy bridge: You could try creating an arch, made of solid wood, cover the top of it with old, mossy branches and place it above the road. Then connect the arch to the nearest trees via ropes and attach a few bits of wood to the ropes as well. I know that such a bridge would be much more complicated to make, but if it mimics the overall looks and sturdiness of the surrounding trees, more animals would use it just because they won't see it as a new, unknown object.
So cool!! I am already a member, now I will gift my sister a membership for Christmas 🪴🤗 I will be expanding the rewilding family, hope you keep expanding the protected area over there!
We will and thank you for not only being a member but also directly expanding it to your friends and family! It is really what makes it all possible :) - Cheers, Duarte
This is a truly marvellous project and hopefully it will be an inspiration for other projects to purchase, protect and research rainforest and other ecosystems around the world. This kind of ownership of land is definitely something that needs to be rolled out more. It is also very encouraging to see all the practical suggestions for the canopy bridges in the comments. I'm glad to be supporting Mossy Earth as a member.
I absolutely love how you can see the effect of animals using branches to travel across the canopy. Kinda like paths that get cleared out as more animals use them. I'm wondering if for the canopy bridges, you could accommodate amphibians by taking inspiration from the coral reefs. Perhaps you set up a rope lattice with plants and branches attached to them, or places for water to pool into like those plants
"Maximizing impact and transparency" - that's why I love you guys. Your focus is on the impact and being transparent with your projects. I would LOVE it if you released some of those audio recordings publicly. You bet I'd download a "Mossy Earth Soundscapes" app :D Toss in your recordings from the coral project while you're at it lol
the best canopy bridge has got to be Eco-sourced trees! Self generating! I enjoyed watching, especially seeing footage of the sloth -very beautiful! Thank you for sharing! More please!
Your work is so impressive, your knowledge and skills. And the videos are always of such a great quality. I love to see them and to follow your journey and projects. One of my favorite channels.
Great idea! The only thing I worry about is that the tourism can negatively affect the nature you guys are trying to save. Though, people from southern continents NEED more national parks to be able to enjoy nature the right way!
Any tourism will need to be very regulated of course. Its a pick between trying to have an economy that destroys the forest and one that keeps it standing. We will keep you posted! - Cheers, Duarte
Exposing a few acres to humans to protect thousands is well worth it. As they said it's about creating an economy based on keeping the forest not cutting it down. It's also the education and concern that make people like you aware of that. And letting people go and see how fragile it is is a very good thing.... If you frame it correctly
I was thinking the exact same thing. Have some heavy duty natural ropes form a base for vines and other plants to grow and they could form a long lasting evolving structure.
my concern is that the plants will add weight which will put additional stress on the bridge, causing it to collapse much much sooner than it would with just natural degradation.
😂 thought it was worth showing people in the intro a taste of what was the come. The worst is, when looking back at the footage, I think Ollie actually did not manage to get the bee out and it stayed in there even after I told him. - Cheers, Duarte
It's super cool to see this project go further. I've been impaciently waiting since the last video. Also love the climbing parts as I like to climb trees myself but only have had a few occasions to climb in a rainforest.
Our botanical garden has ropes with bromelias and orchids on them. They just added some sphagnum moss and attached the plants with smaller ropes. I think this would be a great way to make the bridges more attractive for invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians!
I work in acoustics so the bit about about tracking biodiversity changes with soundscapes was really interesting! Thanks for posting the link to the paper too!
For the canopy bridges, you could make tree-webs/ tree-nets! It is a treehouse building technique, designed not to damage the trees, where you tie ropes between a few trees and weave a net between them; it creates a surface stable enough for humans to traverse so it would work for larger mammals, and due to its small holes much smaller animals would also be able to make use of it. Furthermore, you could train the trees, vines and other plants to grow along the ropes and through the nets to make it feel more natural and even tuck/weave bark and sticks into the net.
Hell yeah guys and girls, you all are doing an amazing job with all these videos, ecosystems, teams and every single thing you all are doing. Thanks for first of all working to make nature healthier and secondly for sharing it with all of us.
I love what y'all do! For an amphibian/reptile friendly bridge, I'd recommend recruiting vines, lianas, and other epiphytes to help create a more natural feeling path that won't be as exposed. As it will take a while for the plants to get established, you could attach canvas or tree bark in the meantime to create shade and resting points along the path.
What if you grew something like a strangler fig or a vine in a very specific diagonal or branching pattern like a wire structure or even a faux tree made of wooden posts? Then over time, this structure might become overgrown, but it wont lose integrity because it is replaced with living marerial as it grows, sort of a super-scaled version of a willow arch for the animals to cross? Native life would wirhout a doubt settle nicely into something like that, though it might be a large time and money invesrment.
A tree snake would need something pretty wide to slither across and all the animals would probably want something leafy to keep the heat away and stay in cover. Perhaps a rope weave bridge with native bark and leaves tied in? I'm thinking multiple ropes weaved together to increase the surface area of the bridge. That way you can keep the flexibility of rope while keeping things available for many types of animal. Though holes in the bridge, drying out, and its strength might prove to be an issue.
As others said before, have plants growing on the bridge ropes and mavy have multiple ropes for one bridge so animals can avoided each other when crossing. Mist reptiles and amphibians love shaded moist environment with hiding spots so the water storing plants might be beneficial. Love your work!
Just saw on BBC News that the snails you found on that remote Portuguese island and sent to Chester Zoo for a captive breeding program have been reintroduced. Good to see the results. I think that was the first Mossy Earth video I watched.
Poor Ollie, awesome system though. Sky wetlands, so cool You could upload the rainforest ambiance sounds those are quite successful kinda things sometimes lol Aha I was hoping for some kind of bridge, very cool Wishing everyone here merry celebrations!
As a long term solution, you can plant wide reaching trees next to the road, here we use Inga but there has to be a native one for the low jungle. It might happen naturally faster though.
For the amphibians and other small animals that do not jump or swing, you could make a tunnel underneath the road. This can be a very wide tunnel (meters) but also a very small tunnel (a pipe of 10cm)
@@MossyEarth I have experience with converting a cattle grid in the netherlands. Remove the sides and small animals can enter from both sides. The grid on top will allow light and heat inside otherwise reptilians will not like to use it.
We’ve had tunnels in Australia for fauna to move across busy roads (with fences a few hundred meters to heard them, and it never takes long for a fox or similar predator to set up a den using it for lunch
For the canopy bridges you could try using hollow bamboo pieces of various sizes tied together... could work as a hanging tunnel system for any smaller and snake-like creatures 😄🐍
Me, with a collection of epephitic orchids, bromilliads, and aroids, watching this going 😍 I will use this as a reference when building my next vivarium with arboreal plants on branches. They're so thick against the trunk, but thin along the branch itself. I will keep this in mind when trying to replicate habitat for my dart frogs to encourage breeding and natural behavior.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
🦥You can support our work directly by becoming a member here: www.mossy.earth/
🎁 And if you are a member already you can also gift the membership here: www.mossy.earth/platform/purchase-gift
A big thank you to everyone who made it possible for us to buy this land and start developing these projects. It really would not be possible without you! We have a lot to show you in the coming year so be sure to keep an eye on the channel. - Cheers, Duarte
I think the easiest solution for the canopy bridge is to just buy a regular suspension bridge with netting on the sides and fill the bottom with leaves and twigs for the amphibians. It's gonna get real heavy, so you need good support, but I think it should work.
If that's too expensive you might want to look for old hammocks and string them together end to end. They're durable enough to hold a human, so I think they should be able to hold each other and a few wet leaves and twigs.
But maybe throw in some support ropes or a few cables just in case.
@@Arrow14100 Good idea in the interim. There are such structures over roads in the rainforest regions of Australia.
For the canopy bridge, reptile bridges already exists (just googled it). Or what about a tube rope or other kind of tubing so that animals can go through it as well as over it?
For canopy bridges for herps (reptiles & amphibians) using a rope that is fitted with sections of PVC pipe will work.
Inside the largest diameter main pipe you insert several smaller longer pvc pipe tubes.
The exterior of the outer/largest diameter PVC segments is then covered in long wraps of burlap or jute swaths and finally wrapped in natural cordage.
To allow for a more stable entrance and exit point, the largest PVC pipe ends are secured with two pre drilled holes and some extra cordage.
The hanging pipe is set up with a 1 to 2 inch gap (5 - 10 cm) from the trunk of the trees used to anchor the bridge.
This allows reptiles and amphibians to enter the open ends and either move between the inner PVC pipe roof and the tops if the smaller internal pipe segments, or it allows animals to move inside of successively smaller pipes, keeping different species of herps able to move without predation or competition.
Could you guys consider working with the Sloth Conservation Foundation?
They have a lot of experience with wildlife corridors for the canopy of rainforest
For the canopy bridges, I would attach pieces of tree bark to the rope like you did with coral for your coral project and let plant life do it's thing. Some animals are very afraid to loose the protection of leaves and crevices which could prevent them of using the bridge. It can also expose them to their natural predators like eagles and birds of prey.
Great idea! Would be very cool to have a “living bridge”! - Cheers, Duarte
@@MossyEarththere's got to be some species of vine that's that long, at least a natural rope if they can't be living
❤
@MossyEarth Would it also be an idea to use a broader bottom rope? i.e. some kind of woven net where the epiphytes can grow? Then you'd have both the cover and an easier way for smaller animals like amphibians that cannot grasp the top rope
I would think a living bridge would be a great idea too. Some animals might not take well to surfaces and textures that are foreign to them.
The idea of cover might also be a must have, as the long bridgespan through open air might provide predators an easy way to pick off traversing animals. Lots of animals are intelligent enough to stop using the bridges as soon as they learn it's not a safe place.
One thing to note is the fact that a truly living bridge will grow and get heavier, which could provide structural challenges.
Any which way it's a fantastic project you at Mossy Earth have taken on! Thank you for all the great work you do!
You guys need to invest in some mosquito hoods for the climb. Watching those sweat bugs crawl into his eyes was brutal!
Haha yes, its on the list! Or some goggles… - Cheers, Duarte
thank you i was extremely uncomfortable watching that lol
Yeah. We want you to have proper protective equipment to prevent injury and disease.
ask erika from texas beeswork to teach you how to be one with the bees xD
@@MossyEarthgoggles will become incredibly warm and frustrating to wear. Definitely get mosquito head nets
About the canopy bridges, I think I might have an idea. Here at university, I have a professor that studies lianas. From someone who works in his lab, I had them explained as essentially plants that are fighting tooth and nail for more access to the sunlight. My thought is you could probably take advantage of that. By anchoring the bridge to a tree with already growing lianas, you could move some of the lianas apical meristems onto your cable. The liana, following its own biology, would then move across the cable. In the process, it would both strengthen your cable while also making it more homely for any snakes, ampibians, etc. that would want to cross.
Also, I've been a member for a few months now. Thank you all for everything you do. This is so much better than an overpriced coffee.
Lianas are the intersection between trees and vines
In the rain forest every tree is fighting branch and trunk for sunlight
@TheFabledSCP7000 Yes, I wasn't trying to argue that they aren't. However, the growth patterns of lianas (essentially woody vines) is usually to follow preexisting structures (trees) in order to find open light. By contrast, while trees over time will provide a better canopy, this is meant to be a quick solution. A tree could take years to reach the height necessary to provide the adequate ecological function that the team is searching for here of providing a highway for reptiles and amphibians.
@@schmittydtty6580 I mean trees also obstruct the road that they are constructing the corridor over
And you're getting lynched too
This sounds great, wouldn’t need to be a bulky structure a simple cable system would probably work for the vines to traverse
It would also maybe be the easiest and cheapest solution (other than ecoducts or an entire wooden bridge etc.) when they find parts on the road where the trees are closest together and indeed let them connect via natural growth with the lianas and other creepers :)
It'd be awesome if MossyEarth uploaded the audio of the amazon rainforest to Spotify in 2 or 8 hour files and just label what time of day.
That would be a great thing to relax and fall to sleep to
There is a podcast called Sound Escape. With audio of nature. I love listening to it. And would love listening to MossyEarth’s audio recordings too!
Replying so encourage this idea!!!!!!
Yes please!
This is a great idea. Or even a whole album of ambient sounds from different locations, rainforest, underwater/beach, woodland, etc. Every stream could support ME projects
As a tropical ecologist, I love seeing state of the art science being used in actual conservation and restoration projects. It's so common to see all these cool methods only used in research, which is still quite important, but seeing it used on actual conservation projects is really cool. From the canopy camera trapping, to the soundscapes and the enviromental DNA in Bromeliads, it's really cool seeing all these approaches to truly and thoroughly understand the diversity of the area. I was going to suggest that something you guys can implement on your secondary forest and any area that was selectively logged, is liana cuttings, it increases tree growth and can speed up succession, making land restoration a bit easier
Liana cuttings help trees grow? Can you explain more please?
Please explain more. Sounds really interesting.
You all are life savers, literally.
Thank you Andy! Your kind words are much appreciated :) - Cheers, Duarte
Its allways amazing to see how their next project manages to be even more impressive then the previous ones
I love your projects, especially this one. I hope some day to go and visit the Amazon. Gracias y sigan este gran trabajo! 🦎🐵🐍🐊🐢
The biocoustics could be made into long form white-noise videos/recordings for people to enjoy - it could maybe create a small revenue stream for Mossy Earth, qnd we would get to listen in on the various sounds the forest makes in different periods
That would be so much better than that awful artificial white noise. I would be on board for that.
I would totally listen to that!
Yeah. Pro tip is to upload to bandcamp, which is arguably the best service for artists being paid fairly.
Never even thought that there could be a plant species that store so much rain water that they create effectively a wetlands up high in the forest canopy. Nature is once again incredible.
As well as those *very curious* bees. Like, holy bananas, I almost couldn't look at Ollie with all those fellas trying to get inside him. Makes wonder if there are any protective gear that you guys can use in such tree climbs.
Canopy bridges to connect fragmented patches of forest definitely sounds like idea worth testing and implementing. Reminded about "green" bridges that builded across highways/roads to help wild animals cross them to get to the other side. Probably need to get Ollie involved in this one too, as the idea with replacing batteries in camera traps without scaling tree again looks outright genius.
Cheers!
There are a lot of weird or bizarre plant species, its amazing.
And about the bridges, connecting 2 already existing parts of an ecossystem is almost allways a no brainer, its not that hard and has an amazing impact, specially in genetic diversity.
In Meghalaya, an Indian state, there are many root bridges that are actually up high, somehow, that are man-made. I think studying those will provide you with valuable insights!
Do you have any links?
those take a really long time to make I heard some took centuries
I don't understand how any of you were able to not only stay put while being swarmed by bees, but actually compose coherent, educational thoughts while ON CAMERA! It's true that I've lost a lot of my comfort with the outdoors and all of its creatures (growing up in Oregon was really fun!), but I would never have been capable of that. You amaze me. *Slow clap*
I'm so happy every time I see another video from you guys. Your work is absolutely revolutionary and important for the Earth, plants, animals and of course us! Thank you for your continued dedication efforts and for sharing all of the work you do. The sharing helps us all feel involved and that is really special. Much gratitude
Hi Erin! Thank you for the lovely comment :) I know it means a lot for everyone who puts in long hours to make all of this possible. It is much appreciated! - Cheers, Duarte
Member here. Consider having both a rope bridge and a log bridge. Have 2 ropes span across at least 2 different heights with mesh netting spanning between the bottom set of ropes as they cross the road. The structural bridge can be made of local fallen trees. Start to train vines around them. Bamboo half pipes to deliver water from the canopy to the bridge surface is a good idea, too. Multiple types of bridge, multiple options. Consider the animal's line-of sight as well. Does it look/feel safe to cross? Maybe put camo netting up overtop of both bridges to protect from aerial predators. Think like an arboreal mammal!
Excellent ideas. I’m also thinking double sets of big poles along the way to help keep the bridge high and supported.
Wow, all that for just 250,000 pounds? (that's about the same as 315,000 US Dollars or 302,000 Euros, btw) It really shows that rewilding and climate change mitigation is slightly expensive, but it is much, much, much cheaper than just letting the enviromental consequences of our society building ride. It makes me wonder why people why anyone wants to ignore climate change, when we could have so much joy from fixing the problem. I'm very lucky to have a job in the climate solutions community (I'm a cartographer who makes survey maps for mega solar and wind farms in the rural United States), and I'm glad to be a supporter here and also a volunteer in climate mitigation efforts within my own community
A good idea for the canopy bridges is using a "net" like you see in playgrounds/gyms in the states. Something interwoven offers lots of surface area for all the creatures, plus TONS of space for native plants to take full advantage of the sunlight to grow their way across the gap, strengthening the bridge and providing hiding spots and water collections along the way. If they're made out of something relatively biodegradable like canvas, as the plants take over they'll create a new structure and the original bridge can be recaptured by nature.
Love the videos guys keep up the conservation and restoration
We will! Thank you for the support! - Cheers, Duarte
Great video of a great project. I've never seen Saki monkeys before in nature films. Looking forward to seeing how your canopy bridges work out, allowing animals to roam across roads and other breaks in the forest canopy. Interesting that you will be pioneering in making canopy bridges that reptiles, insects and other invertebrates can use! Cheers!
It will be really interesting to see how different animals react. Hopefully we will be able to film the small animals as well as the big ones. - Cheers, Duarte
I think a good idea for the canopy bridges would be to make them out of interwoven native lianas and vines (or a safe manmade alternative) with a decent amount of gaps between them to allow for reptiles to slither between the gaps (like at 19:42) while also being thick and big enough en masse to allow for primates to cross. This along with tank bromeliads attached could allow for amphibians to slowly make their way across as well as large leaves or pads for them to jump off and catch themselves on. Thank you all for the work you are doing it is great to see the tiny wins in a field where we see such massive losses on the daily sometimes. Keep up the amazing work and hopefully you keep saving more and more species and ecosystems.
You guys were one of my main inspirations to get a degree in this field. Your videos motivate me so much and make me really appreciate what im working towards. I cant wait to one day also do this type of work.
Thank you Mossy Earth.
Ollie is a brave guy 🐝
Indeed he is! - Cheers, Duarte
Increíble trabajo, Ollie siempre nos motivó a trepar árboles con fines científicos. Los jóvenes de la Amazonia Norte esperamos conocerlo pronto, nos apasiona trepar árboles 💚
Environmental DNA is such an incredibly fascinating resource!
So proud of you guys and this community, this is incredible 💚
I love the video mounting idea to swap batteries and I also love the idea of recording the soundscapes. You could also probably create a soundscapes app that people could use and use the profits from it's sales to help fund projects too. Low cost like 2 dollar monthly subscription or something that most people wouldn't notice but could potentially benefit from every night while they sleep or something. Couple soundscape options, maybe some white/pink/brown noise and you got yourself an additional revenue stream. lots of similar things already exist, and I'm sure a lot of people would gladly switch to an app that actually benefits the environment/people instead of just some random faceless company making profits.
I was thinking of something similar like iTunes but your idea is so much better! ❤ I'd definitely sign up! Maybe they could even have some guest soundscapes from their other projects 😊
Thanks for these videos love the rainforest ones hope to see more! Whats the drought situation like now? Seems like more rain has fallen over the last week 🌳
Thank you for showing the process and not just the results. RUclips is a vital resource for people across the planet who do not have access to specific journals or have conservation/zoology degrees. This way, people can learn and at a much lower cost implement conservation efforts across the globe.
11:22 Super cool info about how to use the soundscapes!
It will be a very interesting project based on some cool new science. I am very excited to show you the first batch of results when they come in. - Cheers, Duarte
As a Mossy Earth supporter (I am not a huge contributor, but give what I can) I very much appreciate the work done by Mossy Earth and very much appreciate that these videos "bring me along for the ride" sometimes to see things that I would never otherwise see.
It makes me want to continue my financial support of Mossy Earth, so good on you.
PS: I am happy I was not up in that tree canpoy, ut watching it safely on the ground (not to mention the sweat bees ordeal).
Your projects keep evolcing in scale and quality, its impressive!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING THIS!!! It makes not only our future brighter but also that of the animals❤🔥
That pulley system for the cameras is genius!
Could you build tunnels for amphibians/reptiles?
Biodiversity there looks unreal! 😊 Amazing video, thanks so much for posting. I've been looking forward to a new update.
It has been a while... Had to rewrite this one and re-edit as well. Some of these bigger longer term videos can be a mess to make. More regular updates the next few months I hope haha - Cheers, Duarte
I think it's a great idea to mimick the way branches connect by creating a bridge and then covering it with plant life. That might solve the problem.
It was marvellous video. Thanks for your efforts towards Mother Earth. I shall pray for your success
About the canopy bridge: You could try creating an arch, made of solid wood, cover the top of it with old, mossy branches and place it above the road. Then connect the arch to the nearest trees via ropes and attach a few bits of wood to the ropes as well. I know that such a bridge would be much more complicated to make, but if it mimics the overall looks and sturdiness of the surrounding trees, more animals would use it just because they won't see it as a new, unknown object.
So cool!! I am already a member, now I will gift my sister a membership for Christmas 🪴🤗
I will be expanding the rewilding family, hope you keep expanding the protected area over there!
We will and thank you for not only being a member but also directly expanding it to your friends and family! It is really what makes it all possible :) - Cheers, Duarte
This is a truly marvellous project and hopefully it will be an inspiration for other projects to purchase, protect and research rainforest and other ecosystems around the world. This kind of ownership of land is definitely something that needs to be rolled out more. It is also very encouraging to see all the practical suggestions for the canopy bridges in the comments. I'm glad to be supporting Mossy Earth as a member.
Cheers and thank you for doing what you all can to restore and keep that place beautiful
I absolutely love how you can see the effect of animals using branches to travel across the canopy. Kinda like paths that get cleared out as more animals use them. I'm wondering if for the canopy bridges, you could accommodate amphibians by taking inspiration from the coral reefs. Perhaps you set up a rope lattice with plants and branches attached to them, or places for water to pool into like those plants
I could happily watch an hour of this every night! So so fascinating.
Nice report. As a science journalist I especially liked the proof of scientific evidence that is included at several points in the video.
You guys are THE best! Thank you seriously
Definitely one of my most favorite projects so far! Love this very much. Thank you for everything that you guys do!
"Maximizing impact and transparency" - that's why I love you guys. Your focus is on the impact and being transparent with your projects.
I would LOVE it if you released some of those audio recordings publicly. You bet I'd download a "Mossy Earth Soundscapes" app :D Toss in your recordings from the coral project while you're at it lol
As a frog lover this is a great episode! Glad to see my membership going to good use! Part of me wishes I could be there, but the bees...
I was a lot of fun for climbing up the Giant Trees🌲 of the amazon, and those trees are very huge in this amazon place, and very amazing.🥰😍❤
the best canopy bridge has got to be Eco-sourced trees! Self generating!
I enjoyed watching, especially seeing footage of the sloth -very beautiful! Thank you for sharing! More please!
should put all those sound clips on spotify or something like that, tons of people who listen to that kind of stuff 😃
Your work is so impressive, your knowledge and skills. And the videos are always of such a great quality. I love to see them and to follow your journey and projects. One of my favorite channels.
Perhaps you could install a jungle version of a willow/hazel arch across the road to help with all the little creatures
Epic video! I am really looking forward to the canopy bridge project getting started.
I am also super excited to show people the results! Should be a fun story to tell :) - Cheers, Duarte
Great idea! The only thing I worry about is that the tourism can negatively affect the nature you guys are trying to save. Though, people from southern continents NEED more national parks to be able to enjoy nature the right way!
Any tourism will need to be very regulated of course. Its a pick between trying to have an economy that destroys the forest and one that keeps it standing. We will keep you posted! - Cheers, Duarte
Exposing a few acres to humans to protect thousands is well worth it. As they said it's about creating an economy based on keeping the forest not cutting it down. It's also the education and concern that make people like you aware of that. And letting people go and see how fragile it is is a very good thing.... If you frame it correctly
Is there some vine that y'all can grow and extend over alongside the ropes, so that there's foliage for the amphibians?
That is a great idea! Would be amazing to have a “living bridge”. - Cheers, Duarte
Knowing how the jungle works it will happen even if they don't plant it haha
I was thinking the exact same thing. Have some heavy duty natural ropes form a base for vines and other plants to grow and they could form a long lasting evolving structure.
my concern is that the plants will add weight which will put additional stress on the bridge, causing it to collapse much much sooner than it would with just natural degradation.
Comment for boost! Thank you for your amazing work🤝🏻
Much appreciated :) - Cheers, Duarte
Love the audio graphics! Great video as always. Looking forward to seeing the progress on this project!
For the canopy bridge you could plant bromeliads on the ropes to help keep the plant cover that smaller animals likereptiles desire
I would love to go down there and help you with your project. I lived in Central America for 9 years and I miss it. The jungle is a hellish paradise.
A hellish paradise is a nice way to describe it :) I also wish I could spend more time there! - Cheers, Duarte
So proud to be a member. All of your work gives me so much hope we can undo the harm of the past the world over.
Starting off with the 'Bee in the ear' scene really drew me in. Worst nightmare there haha. Cool project :)
😂 thought it was worth showing people in the intro a taste of what was the come. The worst is, when looking back at the footage, I think Ollie actually did not manage to get the bee out and it stayed in there even after I told him. - Cheers, Duarte
It's super cool to see this project go further. I've been impaciently waiting since the last video. Also love the climbing parts as I like to climb trees myself but only have had a few occasions to climb in a rainforest.
For canopy bridges, we can use JUTE ROPES which are natural and Eco friendly
So awesome team. What a great video and update. That poor guy was destroyed by bees but was so composed!
Our botanical garden has ropes with bromelias and orchids on them. They just added some sphagnum moss and attached the plants with smaller ropes. I think this would be a great way to make the bridges more attractive for invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians!
I work in acoustics so the bit about about tracking biodiversity changes with soundscapes was really interesting! Thanks for posting the link to the paper too!
For the canopy bridges, you could make tree-webs/ tree-nets!
It is a treehouse building technique, designed not to damage the trees, where you tie ropes between a few trees and weave a net between them; it creates a surface stable enough for humans to traverse so it would work for larger mammals, and due to its small holes much smaller animals would also be able to make use of it.
Furthermore, you could train the trees, vines and other plants to grow along the ropes and through the nets to make it feel more natural and even tuck/weave bark and sticks into the net.
You guys are on another level!
Keep expanding ✊
Love this channel. Love all the work you guys do.
Thank you mossy earth!
Hell yeah guys and girls, you all are doing an amazing job with all these videos, ecosystems, teams and every single thing you all are doing. Thanks for first of all working to make nature healthier and secondly for sharing it with all of us.
Climbing those trees is an arborists dream! :)
Indeed! Minus the bees of course 😂 - Cheers, Duarte
@@MossyEarth Ye lol, in the ear is too much for me!
I love what y'all do! For an amphibian/reptile friendly bridge, I'd recommend recruiting vines, lianas, and other epiphytes to help create a more natural feeling path that won't be as exposed. As it will take a while for the plants to get established, you could attach canvas or tree bark in the meantime to create shade and resting points along the path.
Brilliant video! Ollie being attacked by bees actually made me glad my part is just being sat on a laptop 😅 Some great graphics in it as well 👌🏻
What if you grew something like a strangler fig or a vine in a very specific diagonal or branching pattern like a wire structure or even a faux tree made of wooden posts? Then over time, this structure might become overgrown, but it wont lose integrity because it is replaced with living marerial as it grows, sort of a super-scaled version of a willow arch for the animals to cross? Native life would wirhout a doubt settle nicely into something like that, though it might be a large time and money invesrment.
So cool to see the view from the tree tops and can’t wait to find out how the bridges work
A tree snake would need something pretty wide to slither across and all the animals would probably want something leafy to keep the heat away and stay in cover. Perhaps a rope weave bridge with native bark and leaves tied in? I'm thinking multiple ropes weaved together to increase the surface area of the bridge. That way you can keep the flexibility of rope while keeping things available for many types of animal. Though holes in the bridge, drying out, and its strength might prove to be an issue.
Love you guys
Thanks! We really appreciate the motivational comments! - Cheers, Duarte
As others said before, have plants growing on the bridge ropes and mavy have multiple ropes for one bridge so animals can avoided each other when crossing. Mist reptiles and amphibians love shaded moist environment with hiding spots so the water storing plants might be beneficial. Love your work!
Always baffled by your work. Keep it up ❤
Amazing adventure and project
Glad you enjoyed the video and like the project! - Cheers, Duarte
Poor Ollie. He was so calm.
They make woven coconut bark ropes. That might be a good option to consider and they are biodegradable.
Those captured moments were amazing
Just saw on BBC News that the snails you found on that remote Portuguese island and sent to Chester Zoo for a captive breeding program have been reintroduced. Good to see the results. I think that was the first Mossy Earth video I watched.
Thanks for your work
Poor Ollie, awesome system though. Sky wetlands, so cool
You could upload the rainforest ambiance sounds those are quite successful kinda things sometimes lol
Aha I was hoping for some kind of bridge, very cool
Wishing everyone here merry celebrations!
Goodluck to you guys! Hope this project will be successful.
Please plant more and more trees there
As a long term solution, you can plant wide reaching trees next to the road, here we use Inga but there has to be a native one for the low jungle. It might happen naturally faster though.
Is it possible that they damage the roads?
@joaquimbarbosa896 depends on the type of root system?
For the amphibians and other small animals that do not jump or swing, you could make a tunnel underneath the road.
This can be a very wide tunnel (meters) but also a very small tunnel (a pipe of 10cm)
The smaller tunnel is way more practical to make.
Great idea! There might be some questions on cost and legal complications but added it to the list! - Cheers, Duarte
@@MossyEarth I have experience with converting a cattle grid in the netherlands. Remove the sides and small animals can enter from both sides. The grid on top will allow light and heat inside otherwise reptilians will not like to use it.
We’ve had tunnels in Australia for fauna to move across busy roads (with fences a few hundred meters to heard them, and it never takes long for a fox or similar predator to set up a den using it for lunch
Keep up the great work. Signed, a proud member
Ahh that was so good. I love what you're doing and I dream of being able to support you big-time 🤑
Love the video. The sounds take me back to when i used to work in the Guyana shield. Cuvier's Toucans are my favourite birds :D
Beautiful 😍 the nature, and your work, showing humans can be good members of the community.
Sooo much respect for Ollie!!!❤
For the canopy bridges you could try using hollow bamboo pieces of various sizes tied together... could work as a hanging tunnel system for any smaller and snake-like creatures 😄🐍
Awesome job ladies and gentlemen! Saving our planets wilderness one day at a time!!!
Brilliant. Proud to be a member.😊
I always love watching your videos. Good luck with all the endeavors on your Amazon plot!
Me, with a collection of epephitic orchids, bromilliads, and aroids, watching this going 😍
I will use this as a reference when building my next vivarium with arboreal plants on branches. They're so thick against the trunk, but thin along the branch itself. I will keep this in mind when trying to replicate habitat for my dart frogs to encourage breeding and natural behavior.