Young EcoLeaders of the Brazilian Rainforest

The EcoLeaders activities were completed at the end of October, due to school vacation and the beginning of the rainy season. Regardless Iracambi’s environmental education efforts did not stop there.

In reality, Rosário da Limeira is in the midst of an environmental threat - Bauxite mining. We are working with the city to organize a general assembly and discuss this with the population. There is nothing better than to inform our youth and explain the potential consequences of the presence of mining companies in their city, as well as how to contain the unfettered consumption of aluminum by our modern society.

We held a meeting at the Municipal School of Rosario da Limeira with some of the members of the EcoLeaders program. Afterwards, they decided to make posters with impact phrases demonstrating their opinions about mining. These posters will be used during the General Assembly on Mining that will take place in April of this year.

And we didn’t stop there...during school vacation, we were visited by a couple with their children and nephew. Our Director of Educational Environmental Education gave them a magical tour of the forest: they walked along the Trail of Medicinal Plants and at some points were greeted with a light rain. “It was an incredible experience to hear the rain falling on the leaves and the forest floor. I think that this will stay in our memory forever!” said Viviene, the children’s mother.

Along the way, they played a game of treasure hunting, during which they found a molting cicada in a tree and mosses hidden amongst the rocks. Afterward, we returned to the Forest House, where they were able to use our electronic magnifying glass to see everything in greater detail.

The children had their first experience of bathing in a stream, and Clara - about six years old - climbed a tree for the first time. The visit ended with a delicious picnic on Iracambi’s front lawn, where everyone with muddy feet shared their adventures in the Atlantic Forest.