More fun with spiders! Nature Center teacher Jocelyn had noticed a large number of orb-weaver #spiders near the marketplace in Ranomafana, Madagascar, and organized a #naturejournaling session so that students could observe them up close & in their webs 🔍🕸️

Last week’s nature journaling session was all about 🕷️❗️ Students explored all the different shapes, sizes, and colors of spiders in their area, before heading out to see how many could be found in vegetation versus on buildings - prompting a really neat discussion on camouflage!

First floor of the oloNala #ArtResidency is built 🙌 This section of the building will house studio and gallery space for artists in the future program, offering a dedicated space for working on projects & building portfolios 🖼️ A huge thanks to Sunshine Comes First for sponsoring this initial phase!

Honored to see our interview with Destination: Wildlife published on their blog! We discuss what creative paths to conservation might look like and how we see art as a tool for creating shared cultural narratives around the environment in Madagascar ⬇️ www.destinationwildlife.com/blog/inspiri...

Attending this year’s International Primatological Society Congress in Antananarivo #Madagascar? Head on over to the Centre ValBio info booth to chat with artist and oloNala cofounder Alain Rasolo, snag a print (or two!) from Studio oloNala, and learn more about oloNala & CVB's conservation work 🐒💚

#Naturejournaling fosters a deeper connection between people & place. Slowing down & paying special attention to all the little things not only builds observation and critical thinking skills with regards to the surrounding environment, but encourages the observer to explore their place within it ☀️

It's happening! 🎉 🎨 Today, students at the Ranomafana Nature Center in #Madagascar were introduced to the #creative practice of #naturejournaling 🎨

We're gearing up for our first project with the Ranomafana Nature Center - nature journaling! Working with the teachers there, we've designed a nature journaling practice to complement their lessons, offering visiting students a creative way to explore their surroundings 🎨🖌️

Arahaba tratry ny andron'ny vehivavy 🎉🇲🇬 Happy #InternationalWomensDay from Ranomafana, #Madagascar!

VOI associations, or Vondron’Olona Ifotony, are grassroots community groups in #Madagascar that sustainably manage the forests their communities depend on through ecotourism and eco restoration. VOI Mitsinjo has managed 440 hectares of forest adjacent to Ranomafana National Park since 2020.

We're relieved to hear from our friends at Centre ValBio that the #fire in Ranomafana National Park is finally out. Heavy rainfall finally came after months, ending an unseasonably long dry spell, and the community worked tirelessly each day to stop the fires from spreading.

Absolutely devastating to hear about the #fire consuming Ranomafana National Park in #Madagascar right now. This rainforest protects countless endangered and endemic species of lemurs, birds, amphibians, plants, & insects.This fire threatens not only them, but all the people living by the park too.

With support from Sunshine Comes First, the @safinacenter.bsky.social Launchpad Fellowship, and proceeds from the Studio oloNala Art Gallery & Shop, oloNala cofounder Alain Rasolo and engineer Bien Aimee Randriamamony have broken ground at the site of Madagascar’s first environmental Art Residency!

A bit about us 🌿 oloNala was created out of our shared love of the environment and a sense of urgency to protect it using the tools we know best - art, education, and storytelling.

We‘re new here on #Bluesky, but we’re looking forward to sharing updates from our projects at the intersection of #art and #conservation in #Madagascar with you! Check out our website below and stay tuned for more 🖌️🇲🇬 www.olonala.org