Reforesting the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil

In the month of December, we had our first exciting day in the field with our new and experimental reforestation project. In collaboration with Eco Atlantica, we are pioneering a new process called assisted natural regeneration. Instead of having to use thousands of dollars for expensive conservation practices that often fail, we are experimenting with a much more practical, scalable and natural approach. 

On December 15, the Eco Atlantica team took a field visit to SINAL for the first day of planting trees. The whole SINAL team participated… volunteers, staff, and local workers. One excellent benefit of assisted natural regeneration is that it does not require a complex methodology like many traditional reforestation practices, meaning it can provide ample job opportunities for local workers. One local youth from the town of Santo Antonio will be learning how to track and monitor the reforestation process. 

The day of the visit, hiking up and down the rugged hills of the SINAL property, the Eco Atlantica team showed which were the important species for reforestation that should be nurtured and protected, as well as which were key trees for planting. The theory of natural regeneration is to watch, observe and listen to nature — seeing how nature recovers and springs back and then creating a process that replicates this. We are excited that this project will the beginning of a long time recuperation of our land. 

The SINAL team received exciting news in August when we found out we had been chosen as the site for an experimental restoration project as part of an initiative to find innovative and practical forms of reforestation in the Mata Atlântica. The project has various hubs throughout the state of Rio, testing different types of restoration. At SINAL, we will be experimenting with assisted natural regeneration, which is a method for accelerating the growth of young forests and grasslands that were once Mata Atlantica but have been deforested. An advantage to assisted natural regeneration, as compared to traditional reforestation projects, is that it is far more cost-effective and therefore scalable in the long-term. If the Mata Atlântica is to be saved, it cannot rely on just highly technical, resource-heavy projects. Assisted natural regeneration offers that possibility.

At the end of August, a team from Eco-Atlantica visited SINAL with a team of biologists and forest engineers to perform a diagnostic of our property. After measuring the density of tree species on a variety of areas at SINAL, they happily concluded that we would be an excellent fit for the experimental project. The team will return in October for the next day of fieldwork and to begin recuperating soil, planting specific and important tree species, and taking preventive measures against invasive grasses and other potent barriers to recuperation of the forest.

SINAL is thrilled to part of an innovative project such as this one, as it aligns with our goals to both continue our own work of reforesting the valley of Santo Antonio as well as to create new models of practical and scalable restoration.