Young EcoLeaders of the Brazilian Rainforest

Dear lovely donors,

Greetings from the rainforest, and we really hope you are doing well at the end of a long hard winter (if you’re located in the northern hemisphere!)

Here at Iracambi we’re still operating online (thank goodness for Zoom – where would we be without it?!) And yesterday we kicked off our second course for Environmental Leaders with 36 students from Amapá on the border with Venezuela in the far north to Rio Grande do Sul, way down on the borders of Argentina and all points inbetween.

After our very successful first course we decided to pre-record the lessons and upload them onto the platform to allow more time for moving into breakout rooms, having more in depth discussions, and coming together to figure out practical solutions to some of the challenges that are raised in the small group discussions. And, judging from the feedback on Whatsapp today, the students love our new structure! 

Here's how it works. There are 15 lessons in five modules and students have one week to complete each module which contains a pre-recorded class, additional materials and videos, an ebook which covers all the modules, and a "live" online class where they come together to debate the topic of the week. We’ve also ensured that students cannot proceed to the next module until they have completed their assignments in the current one!

Topics covered include an introduction to the course, an introduction to Iracambi and the work of an environmental non-profit, climate change, covid 19 and its effects on environmental protection, soils and environmental degradation, forests and water, biodiversity, the impacts of mining, how to structure and execute an environmental project, how to lobby your local government, and how environmental leaders can contribute to society.

Sad as we are not to be able to work with the local schoolchildren – the teachers assure us that in this rural area with its precarious internet access it simply isn’t feasible for local children to work remotely – we are thrilled at the enthusiastic response to our online courses, and excited to see the energy and interest of the students from across the country. If we are to save the extraordinary biodiversity of the rainforests, we’re going to need all the environmental leaders we can find!

Thank you so much, dear donors, for your unwavering support for our education program. We couldn’t do it without you!

Please take care of yourselves, and we’ll tell you more in our next letter,

Rainforest love from

Yasmin and the Iracambi team

Links:

• The iracambi site
• Iracambi instagram

• E book for environmental leaders (PDF)
  

Dear wonderful donors,

Greetings from the rainy rainforest where everything is a riot of blossom in the most brilliant colors imaginable – purple, yellow and more shades of green than you can possibly think of!

And a big thank you for all your generous donations – they are the secret sauce that encourages us to jump out of bed and get to work – in the forests, in the classroom, in the schools, on Zoom,  wherever we may be, as we make sure that our education programs are as good as they can be! 

And while we’re on the subject, we want to give a special shoutout to our regular donors who stand with us month after month, year after year, rain or shine. Iracambi visitors, students, directors, global change-makers, and friends old and new – thank you, you are the best!

And now for some exciting news. Our EcoLeaders program has been selected as a finalist for a global award in recognition of good practices in terms of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. How amazing is that? 

Now, in the interests of full disclosure, when we launched our environmental education programs, back in 2000, the SDGs hadn't even been defined. We just knew in our bones that school children and young people in this remote rural area had the same potential as their peers in the most privileged parts of the world. All they needed was access to the sort of educational opportunities that would excite, inspire and equip them to discover their inner scientist! 

Over the years our program has improved and expanded, and after 21 years we have introduced an entire generation of students to their first taste of rainforest science. And they have never forgotten it. 

Some have gone on to study at local universities - something of which their parents could never have dreamed. Some have themselves become teachers. But wherever they find themselves and whatever paths they have chosen to follow, we are honored to have played a part in expanding their horizons and helping them understand and appreciate the wonderful planet in which we live.   

It's been our privilege to play our part in this, and today, as the task is more urgent than ever before, we want to send you a big thank you for being our partners in this life-changing venture. We couldn't have done it without you!

Please look after yourselves and stay safe.  

Warm wishes from the rainny forest from 

Yasmin and the Iracambi team 

Links:

• SDG 4 The ten targets