Today, Alex Logan, CEO and Co-Founder of Cecil, joins me on the Forest Invest podcast. We explore how Cecil is helping bridge the gap between complex nature data sets and real-world applications by addressing a growing challenge in forest investment: accessible, accurate, and actionable nature data. We discuss the importance of understanding the limitations of current data, the need for better “ground-truthing,” and the complexities of localized ecosystems. Alex also shares what the future might hold as biodiversity reporting standards begin to catch up with climate disclosures – and leaves us with one core insight: there’s no silver bullet, only the power of leaning into complexity with the right team.

Quote

“The most requested data set we get asked for at the moment are the key-protected areas and red list data sets – driven by regulatory pressure around nature risk.”

“There's a big missing piece in the world right now, and that’s reliable, global ground-truth data to benchmark and train nature

models.”

Useful Resources

Cecil

Alex Logan (LinkedIn)

The ForestLink newsletter signup

Production Team

Founding Director and Host: Shauna Matkovich - The ForestLink

Producer and Editor: Magdalena Laas - Unscripted Creatives

Chapters

[00:00 ] Introduction: Meet Alex Logan, CEO of Cecil  

[00:31 ] What’s Your Favorite Tree?  

[01:00 ] Alex’s Background and Career Journey  

[01:46 ] The Birth of Cecil: From Climate to Nature  

[02:57 ] Why Nature Data Matters  

[03:53 ] The Problem Cecil is Solving  

[04:35 ] How Cecil Has Evolved Over Time  

[06:06 ] Pivoting to a Data-Centric Model  

[07:34 ] What Is Nature Data?  

[08:56 ] Who Uses Cecil’s Platform?  

[10:13 ] Real-World Use Case: Land Banking Group  

[11:21 ] Most Requested Data Sets  

[12:50 ] Data Set Reliability & Curation Challenges  

[15:07 ] Why Context Matters in Data Application  

[16:41 ] The Vision: Smart Data Set Recommendations  

[17:33 ] Questions to Ask Your Nature Data Provider  

[19:11 ] Cost vs. Resolution in Remote Sensing  

[20:55 ] Temporal Coverage and Use Cases  

[21:28 ] What Users Want Most: Accuracy & Trust  

[23:27 ] How to Improve Model Accuracy  

[24:19 ] The Ground Truth Challenge  

[26:02 ] Reducing Costs & Funding Nature Data  

[28:39 ] Advice for Small Forest Landowners  

[31:25 ] Creating an Economy Around Nature Data  

[33:01 ] Making Complex Data Accessible  

[34:28 ] The Role of Intermediaries like Land Banking Group  

[36:41 ] Standard Setting in Nature Disclosures  

[39:20 ] Crystal Ball: The Next 12 Months in Nature Data  

[41:23 ] Final Reflections & Where to Learn More  

Sound Library

Nature by MaxKoMusic/Soundcloud

Sopwell Woodlands and Scohaboy Bog SAC, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, IRELAND by wild_rumpus/Soundcloud

Ambient Documentary by Sound Guru (Pixabay)

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