Young EcoLeaders of the Brazilian Rainforest

The result of the school competition that we started last year had amazing results, and the smallest school that participated in the competition was the winner of the competition.

The Municipal School Joaquim Ribeiro Carvalho  showed that it was there to win and gathered 0,17 kg of batteries per student- the highest result considering the number of students. The Municipal School Cândido Portinari won second place, with 0,15 kg per student.

In sum, all the students removed from the environment a total of 228,5 of batteries which would be all discarded directly into the soil. This is a disastrous issue to the health of the regional aquifers.

With this result we can prove that even with small numbers we can make a difference. Let's follow the steps of these young eco-leaders and keep doing our part to better the life of our planet.

In this last trimester, the transportation crises, the multiple school strikes, and the school- holidays turned it impossible for students of Rosário da Limeira and Belisário to Iracambi. However, now in September the regular activities of Ecoleaders will be back.

Even with all the current problems of Brazil and in the world, Iracambi never stops with its activities of planting the seeds of future eco-leaders in the heart of the young.

In this trimester we received more than 50 visitor betwen the age of 7 and 21 for activities of environmental sensitizing programs.

To a lot of students, it was the first trip of their lives inside of a forest and all of its wonders.

One of the students will always reside in our memory: Ryan, a bright young kid of 7 years old who knows much more of many adults around. He knew the names of many animals of the Atlantic Rainforest and knew exactly where to find them.

Nevertheless, there was something that Ryan didn't know: the local primate 'Muriqui' is the largest primate of the Americas and lives inside of the forests of Iracambi, as well as the sloth who also lives here which adores to hide under the of leaves of our famous tree 'Emba-uba'...

I could stay hours here telling to you all that happens during these visits. If you want to know more about our stories, reach us and it will be the greatest pleasure to talk you! You are a part of these adventures that happens with us.

Another group that also participated in our Ecoleaders activities with us came from the towns of Ervária and Viçosa. This group was very interesting because it was made of children, teenagers, parents and undergraduate students.

The interactions of this group were incredible and actually quite unusual. Maria Eduarda, a child of 9 year old, took leadership of the Medicinal Plants Trail with such enthusiasm and self-confidence that it seemed that she was used to being in forests her entire life and it was the first forest walk of her life!

The most knowledgeable participant- Dona Betânia told us about her precious knowledge of local medicinal plants and told  stories of her life 40 years ago. She knew a lot about herbal medicine since at that time it was the only health resource that was in place.

Finally, we fell in love with Yara's courage. She is a tennager of 16 years old who has phobia of been in closed forests. She was encouraged by her friends to visit Iracambi to win over her fear. At the end of the visit, Yara came to thank me for helping her lose her fear of such environment and that she actually had an unforgettable experience.

And that' all. We will keep with our mission of "Saving forests and transforming lives", like the ones of Ryan, Maria Eduarda, Betânia and Yara, who participate in the Ecoleaders program and took home lessons of environmental conservation and memories that will never be forgotten.

For more than four years Brazil has been suffering with economical and political instability, notably scandals of corruption involving important political figures with a blatant disregard for Brazilian citizens.

As a result of this, the year began with much insecurity and discontent for the majority of Brazilians, who suffer on a daily basis with rising inflation, economic inequality and unemployment.

Last month, Brazil came to a standstill. A demonstration by truck drivers representing the working class and supported by public school teachers, resulted in the paralysis of food and fuel deliveries and the closing of several schools throughout Brazil.

Iracambi was also affected, as the crisis left the local council unable to offer transportation to young people.This interrupted and delayed several activities with our Eco Leaders in recent months.

Despite the crisis Brazil is currently experiencing, Iracambi continues to make every effort to maintain its activities with the Eco Leaders in the Atlantic forest. At the beginning of this last quarter we received our first group of Eco Leaders, 40 students from the 5th grade from two public schools in the municipality of Rosário da Limeira.

The visits introduced the students to a fantastic new world of adventure and discovery in the Atlantic Forest, for many it was their first visit to a natural environment full of amazing animals and plants.

The students observed every detail on their visit, from the number of different colored butterflies to an infinity of different types of ants.

We laughed a lot when one of the students, known as Carlos, was startled by a cricket that jumped from a plant directly onto his shoulder! Marília,a student living in the countryside, knew a lot about the forest and was curious to learn the names of several plants as we walked.

The students discovered, each in their own way, the easiest and most exciting form to observe and catch the small insects of the Atlantic Forest.

"A lot changed in the class after the students visited Iracambi, they became more curious in class and are enthusiastic to return to the reserve" - reported their school teacher Edna.

Another group that partook in  Environmental Education activities at Iracambi came through our partner CRAS (Rosário da Limeira Social Services). Almost 100 children participated in the Easter hunt we held,  hunting for natural treasures. Through these activities the students were able to learn more about the forest animals, walk along trails that keep the treasures of the medicinal plants, and to end, each was gifted with a delicious chocolate egg.

The volunteers at Iracambi did a great job in leading and organising the event, inspiring the children on their quest for knowledge. Scott, one of our volunteers, had so much fun with the children remarking that the experience was one he would never forget.

Scott was a very important volunteer for the children from Rosário da Limeira community. Through him we were able to offer 60 students from the 6th grade the fantastic opportunity of English classes with support from a native. This was the first time this had happened in any of the public schools in  Zona da Mata region. It was three weeks of dynamic and fun English classes that offered students a unique experience in their classes with their English teacher Aline.

"The students were so excited when Scott came to teach, they arrived to classes already complementing everyone in English and using new sentences they had learnt. They said their names, their age, where they lived, etc. I never thought they would react in this way, it was truly moving to see"  reported English teacher Aline.

In other great news, we have recently partnered with DEMSUR (Municipal Department of Urban Sanitation) in Muriaé, a neighboring city with more than 86,000 inhabitants. Together we have launched the first competition to collect batteries that are harmful to the environment.

The competition began in May and the prize is a day filled with fun and immersive activities in the Atlantic Forest demonstrating the importance of discarding batteries at the appropriate collection sites so that rivers and soil are not damaged by the chemical components of such materials.

Iracambi was the first entity to carry out environmental education activities in the region and is the only one that does this work, to stimulate the direct contact of the children with the animals and plants of the Atlantic Forest, encouraging them to appreciate, learn more about the forest and consequently to love nature and all that it offers us human beings.

We know the importance of the local communities, which are gradually decreasing along with a little bit of our beloved forest and therefore, despite the various crises in Brazil, we are working to expand our services to other schools in the region.

There are more than 2,000 public schools in our region and our focus is to be able to welcome all students who belong to these schools to partake in activities that awaken their senses and reinforce the idea that our mission of "saving forests and transforming lives" is the way forward.