Shipping containers usually last 15 to 18 years at sea. Their durability and structure make them ideal for transformation. Around the world, these big boxes are being adapted into social housing, restaurants and even shopping centres. In the French region of Normandy, we meet Tony, who repurposes old shipping containers into unique spaces like chip shops, coworking hubs and laundromats. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Catherine Viette.

Faced with widespread chemical pollution and a dramatic collapse in biodiversity, farmers and scientists in western France have been testing a revolutionary farming model for over 30 years. No pesticides, no synthetic fertilisers – just nature. And it works: steady yields, stable incomes, and a thriving ecosystem. A one-of-a-kind collaboration in Europe.

Fed up with pesticide pollution and bland produce, Steve Salim is teaming up with farmers in the French overseas region of Guadeloupe to bring back healthy, local food. With clean, tested soil and old-school farming methods, they’ve set out to prove that local tastes better and costs less than imports.  

Once on the brink of extinction in Scandinavia, the Arctic fox is slowly returning. Threatened by hunting and climate change, the animals' population had dropped to just a few dozen individuals in the 2000s. Today, thanks to a long-term reintroduction programme, their numbers have grown to 550. Researchers are now hoping to see the Arctic fox population double within the next 25 years. Down to Earth and our France 2 colleagues follow the journey of these snow-white survivors. 

Beer is Europe's most consumed alcoholic beverage – but what happens to the waste it creates? In France alone, breweries generate over 600,000 tons of spent grain every year. 

Indonesia leads the world in nickel production, fuelling the global shift to electric cars. But this rapid growth comes at a steep environmental cost. Nickel mining is driving deforestation, polluting rivers and endangering local communities. Our France 2 colleagues have been to Weda Bay, at the heart of Indonesia's mining boom. They bring us this report, with FRANCE 24's Jennifer Ben Brahim.

What do a colonising plant and a carnivorous worm have in common? Both come from South America and threaten our ecosystems. They are among invasive exotic species that have contributed to nearly half the world's animal and plant extinctions. In southwestern France, locals, scientists and officials are trying to stop the invasion. The Down to Earth team reports.

Roughly 40 percent of the world's population live in coastal areas. What once felt like a privilege — living close to the sea — is becoming increasingly risky. ️Climate change is speeding up coastal erosion. Rising sea levels and storms are threatening coastal towns like Lacanau, in southwestern France, which is considering moving inland by 2100. FRANCE 24's Aurore Cloé Dupuis, Alexandra Renard, John Walsh and Carlotta Poirier report. 

Wildlife trafficking is one of the most profitable criminal activities in the world, after drug trafficking, human trafficking and arms smuggling. At the end of last year, an international operation uncovered 20,000 live, wild animals, including reptiles, felines, turtles and monkeys. Some 365 people were arrested in connection with six different illegal networks. Here in France, French authorities recently found endangered felines in Parisian apartments, far from their natural habitats. Some of them are now being cared for at an animal shelter in Nogent-le-Phaye, south of Paris. 

In northern France, an entire district is now heated thanks to waste that was previously unrecyclable. Every day, Le Havre converts 300 tons of trash into energy, providing enough heat for more than 37,000 households. This green energy system reduces the local carbon footprint and provides cheaper and cleaner heating to residents. We take a closer look.