Welcome to Beyond the Canopy — the podcast by OpenForests, where nature takes center stage. From climate finance to forest technologies, from policies to on-the-ground impact — we bring you bold conversations with those shaping the future of nature restoration and conservation.
Forests: Reasons to be hopeful with Marie-Noëlle Keijzer from WeForest
What does it really take to restore ecosystems at scale, beyond planting trees?
In this episode of Beyond the Canopy, we sit down with Marie-Noëlle Keijzer, CEO of WeForest, to talk honestly about the realities of ecosystem restoration.
From restoring more than 80,000 hectares to planting over 100 million trees, WeForest’s work reaches far beyond forests, it supports livelihoods, strengthens communities, and builds long-term resilience for people and nature alike.
Together, we explore what works (and what doesn’t) in large-scale restoration, why community leadership is essential, and how science, transparency, and integrity are non-negotiable if we want restoration to deliver real, lasting impact. We also discuss the growing role of corporate partnerships and how to make sure they truly support ecosystems rather than just good intentions.
Whether you’re working in conservation, sustainability, impact investing, or simply curious about how restoration really happens on the ground, this conversation offers grounded insights and hopeful perspectives.
Hit subscribe, join the conversation, and let's grow a movement beyond the canopy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marie-Noëlle's reading recommendation: Not the end of the world by Hannah Ritchie
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/453652/not-the-end-of-the-world-by-ritchie-hannah/9781529931242?utm_source=BeyondTheCanopyPodcast-WeForest&utm_medium=youtube-description&utm_campaign=reco (https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/453652/not-the-end-of-the-world-by-ritchie-hannah/9781529931242?utm_source=BeyondTheCanopyPodcast-WeForest&utm_medium=youtube-description&utm_campaign=reco)
9 Jun 2026TRANSCRIPT
How WWF partners with IKEA and SIG to ACT for FORESTS
Host Alexander interviews Tim Cronin, Global Lead of WWF's Forests Forward Program, about how IKEA and SIG integrate forest conservation into their business strategies for mutual benefit.
11 May 2026TRANSCRIPT
40 Years Protecting Mexico's Sierra Gorda : Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda
Alexander Watson interviews Marta "Pati" Ruiz Corzo and Laura P. Burke Pérez-Arce about 40 years of protecting Mexico's Sierra Gorda, revealing revolutionary local conservation strategies.
21 Apr 2026TRANSCRIPT
250M Trees and a Search Engine That Refuses to Cash Out: ECOSIA
Host Alexander Watson interviews Christian Kroll, founder of Ecosia, and Pieter van Midwoud, Ecosia's Tree Planting Officer, about the search engine's mission to restore the planet and build independent digital infrastructure.
26 Jan 2026
Forests: reasons to be hopeful with Marie-Noëlle Keijzer
Host [Host Name] interviews Marie-Noëlle Keijzer, CEO of WeForest, exploring the realities and essential elements of large-scale ecosystem restoration for lasting impact.
20 Nov 2025
Tim Christophersen: We're in a Toxic Relationship with Nature
Host Alexander interviews Tim Christophersen, Vice President of Climate Action at Salesforce, about fixing our toxic relationship with nature and cultivating conditional optimism for planetary restoration.
16 Sept 2025
The "Fake" Rainforest that pays for itself
Host Alexander Watson interviews Andreas Eke, co-founder of The Generation Forest, about their innovative model for economically viable and ecologically sound reforestation projects.
16 Sept 2025
Ecosia's CIRCULAR Funding
Alexander Watson interviews Mathias Perobelli Schmidt about Ecosia's innovative Circular Funding model, which reinvests returns into ecological restoration and community development.
11 Sept 2025
Beyond the Canopy Trailer
This trailer introduces "Beyond the Canopy," a podcast exploring climate finance, forest technologies, and conservation efforts with industry experts.
20 Aug 2025
Commonland’s 4Returns Funding Approach
Alexander Watson interviews Alejandro Diaz about Commonland's 4Returns Funding Approach, revealing how to unlock substantial funding for holistic landscape restoration.
10 Jul 2025
What makes a GOOD Carbon Project
Alexander Watson interviews Michael Rumberg about the essential elements of high-quality forest carbon projects, covering impact, risk, and stakeholder alignment.
22 Nov 2023
Coffee and geo-transparency with Breece Robertson
Join us for the first coffee and geo-transparency talk with Breece Robertson - geospatial expert, conservation champion, author, and community planning expert.
2 Mar 2021
Food forests feed and store carbon
Learn how to establish diverse food forests that create income for rural communities, store carbon, and restore nature for rare animals such as the Indonesian Tiger. Paul Burgers the Founder and CEO of CO2 Operate B.V. a social enterprise, shares his experiences of successful collaboration with rural farmers in Indonesia to scaling sustainable agroforestry.
24 Apr 2020
How to grow your own forest
Shubhend Sharma, an experienced afforestation expert, shares his knowledge on how to create natural, wild, maintenance-free, native forests in urban environments and on degraded lands.
10 May 2019
Bamboo for landscape restoration
Brian Cohen, Director of the Global Programme of the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation (INBAR), gives us a unique insight into how sustainable Bamboo production is contributing to landscape restoration.
29 Mar 2019
From a cattle ranch to agroforestry
Can only industrial monoculture forest plantations yield high returns?
In this episode, we are going to challenge this paradigm of either returns or sustainability.
We will do that together with my Guest Juan Bronson, Co-Founder, and COO of Izabal Agroforest S.A, Guatemala. Juan is a timber & agro-forestry operational manager and investment specialist with a long track record.
13 Mar 2019
About this podcast
explorer.land Stories podcast. Discover, connect to, and communicate impactful nature-based projects.
Inside a recent episode
How WWF partners with IKEA and SIG to ACT for FORESTS
Published 9 Jun 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] So really it's about catalyzing commitment, action, and collaboration so that we can halt and reverse forest loss globally. Yeah. And can you explain a little bit about the core pillars of this engagement? So in which areas can organizations, let's say, help to not cut down forests or stabilize ecosystems? So what are the kind of activities these organizations can do? Yeah, I mean, there's a huge breadth of activities and interventions, if you like, that we work on with these partner companies, but they're broadly framed around what we call three action areas. So first of those is responsible sourcing. […]
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
