Summer 2022: Heat waves with ever-increasing temperatures follow one after another. After an unprecedented drought, the country's first megafire breaks out in southwestern France. A long battle begins – with thousands of tons of fresh and salt water, firefighting agents, and safety corridors carved into the landscape by bulldozers. After several weeks of fierce effort, the fire is finally brought under control.

From 2017 to 2022, the organization Cistude Nature, as part of the "Les Sentinelles du climat" (Climate Sentinels) program, recorded biodiversity in selected areas. Upon returning to the burned area, the scientific team can now investigate how well the site is regenerating – and understand how animals and plants are surviving, adapting, and recolonizing.

Is it conceivable to recreate soulless, highly flammable "production forests" based on the foundations of the old world? Will we repeat our mistakes for purely profit-driven reasons? And how can we adapt to this new climate that is changing life and living conditions in France?