Forests4Water Brazil: Community Climate Action

Good morning, dear donors,

I´m sure you are familiar with the quote in the title of this message?

The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.

Have no fears. With your help, we are on the case.

We're gearing up fast for the rainy season, holding our breath and praying that it comes soon. Just in case you wonder what our forestry team is up to, here's an overview of a week in their lives. In preparation for planting they are finalizing farm visits, collecting and storing data, and making a preliminary separation of the tree species most suitable for each property. They´re also checking on the seedlings planted earlier this year and getting ready to send in the first team to prepare the land and dig the holes.

Meanwhile the backroom boys and girls are working with potential donors and partners and we've recently come up with a retrospective of the program 2015-2020 - which we hope you´ll check out. We've included the link further down in this letter. Providing a quick overview of a program is always a useful exercise, and the main lesson we learned over the early years of the prgram was the importance of monitoring and maintenance. In our tropical climate there are all manner of competing species just waiting to suffocate the baby trees, but after two years of periodic maintenance the trees are able to hold their own! So this explains why around half the cost of producing, planting and maintaining a seedling is for labor. 

Next week Deivid and Alfredo will be off to visit one of our favorite partners in the neighboring state of Rio de Janeiro. They can't wait to get out into the field and learn from some of the best in the business. Zoom calls are invaluable, but nothing beats rolling up your sleeves, getting your hands dirty and exchanging news and views with fellow tree planters.

We'll be sure to update you on the outcome of that visit, and in the meantime, thank you, thank you, for your support. You are the best!  

with love and appreciation from the iracambi Forestry Team 

PS We mentioned that we´ve hired a new forest nursery assistant, right? Her name is Fran, and we're sending you her photo. 

Links:

• Forests4Water retrospective 2015-2020

Good afternoon, dear donors,

It's actually been raining this past week - remember we told you that the old timers were saying the rains were coming early? We don´t think this is actually the real rains yet, just a rehearsal, but we´ll take what we can get, and it´s amazing how just a few days of gentle rain can transform the landscape overnight.

And it's most welcome, as we approach the planting season.Over the past couple of weeks we've carried out another six farm visits, so we're well up to speed. Which is just as well, since once the rains set in with a vengeance we can have days when even the most hardy teams in the toughest of vehicles can scarcely make it up to some of the planting sites! 

But so far, so good, and Deivid is very happy with the nursery situation. His seedlings are looking happy and healthy and his team has been scouring the forest for seeds, since the work of making seedlings depends on when the different tree species set seed. He reckons they've collected around forty kilos of seeds over the past few days, and collecting is only the start. As you know, different seeds require different methods of preparation, and all seeds require the right combination of water, oxygen, temperature and sunlight. Some species require scarification –  not as bad as it sounds! Scarification simply means breaking through the hard outer coat that is designed to keep the seed in a state of dormancy. This can be done by passing through the digestive system of an animal or bird, or by gently sandpapering the hard outer coat to let the seed emerge. It's a lot of work, but we have yet to persuade Deivid to pass the seeds through his own digestive system..... You can also soak the seeds to soften the outer coat. Some seeds even require fire conditions to germinate, can you believe?

Another news item is that we'll be welcoming a new forestry coordinator at the end of the month, and there is much to be done before he arrives. Deivid and Alfredo will be paying a visit to one or our colleagues in Rio state who is an expert in large scale reforestry and will certainly have much to teach them. They are also signed up to become drone pilots which is going to simplify our monitoring considerably. 

Lots going on down here. But we wouldn´t have it any other way.

So thank you once again for your amazing support. You are the best!

With much love and appreciation from the Iracambi Forestry Team  

PS  We forgot to tell you that we have another expert pair of hands helping out in the nursery. Her name is Fran, and we're thrilled that she has joined the team.