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.