Young EcoLeaders of the Brazilian Rainforest

Dear [donor first name],

It’s almost holiday season and we are here to THANK YOU for your help during this year.

If you’re overwhelmed by how fast this year has gone by, as you realize that the winter holidays are just around the corner, you can alleviate your heart by thinking that 2022 was a year of bliss, joy, and a lot of work!

This year, we introduced hundreds of kids to their first taste of rainforest science because we were able to retake our face-to-face projects, as well as continue our online training. And as the Young Ecoleaders is a project that is very dear to our hearts, was retaken as well and we’re now in the last leadership classes and our 48 young eco leaders will graduate within a few weeks! 

In our last report, we let you know that Giving Tuesday was coming, on November 29, and during that day we were able to raise some funds that will be used for the continuity of our projects next year!

And we are dreaming higher and going further: we plan on training and educating 1000 kids and expanding our educational program! And we continue to count on you to make it happen!

But for now, in this loveliest of seasons may you find all the gifts that you gave us thought the years: the gift of love; the gift of peace; the gift of happiness.

May all these be yours at Christmas and onto the New Year!

Cheers to warm holiday memories! 

The Iracambi Team.

Dear wonderful donors, 

Greetings from the rainy rainforest, and here’s a big shoutout and thank you for your amazing support for our young environmental champions!  

Check out our short video in the link below to see what's REALLY happening down in the rainforest. 

And here’s a headsup. Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday, the biggest giving day of the year!  This year GlobalGiving has $1,200,000 in incentive funding, and every donation raised between 1201 am and 1159 pm on November 29th will go even further!  

Over those 24 hours we're aiming to raise $15,000, and all donations will go directly to our programs of reforestation, education and medicinal plants. All part of caring for the forests and forest people. 

And we wanted to give you a sneak peek at our plans for 2023.

We're going to expand our regular program for ecoleaders to reach 75 local school children, host at least 500 more for day-long workshops in our forest campus, and contact schools that don't yet know us, so that we can get ever more children (and teachers) excited about protecting the forests and supporting the ecosystem on which we all depend. We're aiming to impact at least 1000 children next year! 

And as we have been watching with huge admiration the kids from across the world who are raising their voices at COP 27, we realize once again how important it is to create a safe space for them to share their insights, and to listen carefully to what they have to say. 

Please support us on Giving Tuesday tomorrow if you possibly can, remember that all donations received tomorrow will attract incentive funding, and encourage your friends, family and colleagues to join the movement that is changing the world! 

with love and appreciation from the Iracambi Educators - and that's basically everyone at Iracambi! 

Links:

• short video to show you what's REALLY going on in the rainforest

Dear donors,

We wanted to give a big shout out for all your wonderful support over this complicated year. Your donations are helping to change the future of the younger generations - and the world. Between us, we’re directly impacting 50 local schoolchildren, through providing an integrated approach to rainforest science, teaching them to understand the role of each living creature (including ourselves,) and encouraging them to protect this beautiful earth. 

And that doesn’t include the hundreds of children from schools in the region who join us for day-long workshops to give them a taste of our EcoLeaders program. 

As the kids grow older, their passion for the project becomes part of their DNA! They  also begin to understand more on how they can play their part in saving the environment, both in the forest area where they live and also across the world. 

And we need your help to move farther. Giving Tuesday is fast approaching and, as you know, it’s the biggest giving day of the year! 

We’re aiming to hit our goal of U$100,000 to be used to support all our programs, raising more young environmental champions, running more workshops, and planting more trees.  

Please mark the date of November 29 on your calendar and encourage your friends, family and colleagues to join the movement that is changing the world! 

With kind hugs and warm hearts.

The Iracambi team.

Dear environmentalist friends!

Here at Iracambi we have been super, super busy, welcoming our latest team member: Lara, our  new Research Coordinator! They will be joining us on the mission of supervising our research,  as well as contacting universities, teachers, professors, and alumni. And they hit the ground running - attending a meeting of the Pact for the Restoration of the Atlantic Forest in Rio as we speak!  

Lara will  be working with us part time, while finishing their doctorate, and we couldn’t be happier to have them on site and able to work with Robin to give a new boost to our research program.  

But we’re not only here to talk about our research!  

We also wanted to update you on our EcoLeaders program, which is going really well. Our Ecoleaders are one of the driving forces here at Iracambi, constantly keeping us up to the mark with their insatiable thirst for knowledge about everything to do with the forest. And it’s wonderful to see them growing in confidence  as they learn more! 

Oh and….. this weekend we’re hosting a big group of students from the federal university in Belo Horizonte, AND another group from one of the universities in Muriaé who are coming to discuss sustainability and ethics. So there's never a dull moment here at Iracambi! 

Our huge apppreciation goes to all of you who are joining us on this adventure to learn more about the rainforest. Between us we are playing a small role in developing these young minds, as well as strengthening our research program, and we are truly grateful! 

With lots of joy!

The Iracambi team.

Dear wonderful supporters, 

Howdy!

Our EcoLeaders are already embarking on their second visits to Iracambi. On their first visit they got to learn about the NGO and our forest restoration work, and this time they are learning about soils. 

They went on a forest trail, collected soil samples from different areas, analyzed them under the microscope, and it was a really fun day!

Dayana – one of our environmental educators – gave them some homework - writing a report on what they learned during their second visit. 

The students also watched the“Springs of water” a documentary produced by the state of Minas Gerais, which talks about the impacts of mining on local communities, both good and bad  - creating jobs and economic opportunities on one hand, and the environmental and social impacts on the other. They also discussed the effects of using pesticides and herbicides, as well as the genetic modification of food crops. 

The students are also meeting local personalities such as Farinhada, a popular entertainer who talked with them about the environment, and will help them make some musical instruments to use in workshops and in presentations in the schools.