Can you imagine the power of thousand students and teachers engaged in facing the challenge of restoring nature? This happened during the collaborative school competition “Restore Nature – Brazilian Ecosystem Restoration Olympics” organized by WWF Brazil and coordinated by Quero na Escola, a non-profit institution dedicated to education. The initiative was also supported by UN Environment Program (UNEP) in Brazil.
From North to South, covering 2.7 thousand miles, the six Brazilian biomes, 25 states plus the Federal District, the Restore Nature resulted in 7.424 students involved in its first phase. Aligned with the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration, the competition considers that introducing restoration themes with the school curriculum can be a meaningful way to restore nature and people's connection to it.
The UNEP-WCMC Brazil Programme Officer, Matheus Couto, was part of the Olympics jury. For him, moments like this can help to shape a new generation of nature protectors and defenders. “It was fascinating to see the students developing their projects and thinking about how to restore their local ecosystems. Most student projects relied on a variety of strategies like composting, tree planting, recycling, and environmental education, which is great because there is no single solution for reverting nature degradation.
For the Engagement Director of WWF-Brazil, Gabriela Yamaguchi, it is essential to restore human relation with nature, and schools can be a strong allied in this purpose. “It is crucial that we stop destroying and preserve the environment, but today this is not enough. We need to restore nature and our relationship with it. This Olympics was created because we recognize the importance of the school community as a starting point for changing society's relationship with nature”, explained Yamaguchi.
For creating the competition, the Quero na Escola team identified the demands of the school community in a listening process carried out in schools in several Brazilian cities. In the interviews, teachers talked about their world views, fears, frustrations, dreams, and obstacles in the context of the pandemic. “The actions taken by students together with their teachers and classmates are lifelong lessons that also leave a legacy for society. The impact of Restaura Natureza is immense,” says Cinthia Rodrigues, cofounder of Quero na Escola.
Restoring the Igarapé do Gigante
The “Sauins Protetores” group, formed by five students from the Professora Tereza Cordovil Municipal School in Manaus, Amazonas State, coordinated by teacher Christinne Matos Marcos, won first place in the Judging Commission category of the Olympics among 208 summited projects. The participants engaged themselves to obtain the donation of seedlings and the authorization of a space in the Igarapé do Gigante, or Giant’s Igarapé, for planting.
Before continuing to tell you this story, you need to know the meaning of the word “Igarapé.” It is an indigenous word from the Tupi, meaning “canoe path”. It is called this way because they are aquatic paths through the dense Amazon rainforest, considered “veins” of the forest, connecting river islands to each other or to the mainland. The igarapés act as ecological corridors that allow the flow of animal and plant species. Moreover, it was and is crucial to the development of the city of Manaus, which has more than 2 million inhabitants and is one of the most populated in the Brazilian Amazon.
According to Christinne Matos Marcos, Manaus has 150 igarapés, and almost all of them suffer from pollution. The “Igarapé do Gigante” is part of the Tarumã watershed, considered a mixed watershed, passing through urban and rural zones. It is also facing pollution. This Igarapé could be an essential ally in improving the quality of life of the population. Still, instead, it has been suffering for decades with significant environmental changes throughout its watercourse and the rampant growth of the urban areas. But now, the Giant’s Igarapé has defenders: the “Saiuns Protetores”. The group name “Sauins” represents one of the species of monkey, small and long-tailed, common in the Amazon region.
To carry out a significant restoration action, the “Protective Sauins” mobilized and brought together different organizations, such as Non-Governmental Organizations, the municipal environment and planning secretariats, indigenous people and traditional communities living in the igarape boarders. “Together with the partners we started the restoration in an area of 200 square meters in an area of Permanent Preservation of the Igarapé do Gigante with a length of 7 kilometers. 200 tree species were planted, all native to the Amazon. The students, teachers, representatives of partner organizations, the Munduruku indigenous leader, community members who live around the igarapé do Gigante, representatives of the Mata Viva NGO, the Todos pelo Gigante Collective, and the Tarumã Basin Committee all got involved and contributed to this important mission,” explained teacher Christinne Marcos.
To monitor the area, the students also involved technology. To follow the growth of the trees they registered each one in the Tree Earth app, which allows, among its functions, the emission of certificates, a kind of “birth register” of each plant, reports, planting statistics and a CO2 calculation.
Besides performing the restoration, the school adopted the space, and the students became its official protectors. The school implemented a schedule of visits to the space that was reforested, granting that all the school students will have a close contact to know and take care of the Igarapé do Gigante. “The conservation of the environment depends directly on the awareness and change of habits, such changes are only possible through education”, highlighted teacher Christinne.
The students shared how the experience transformed their relationship with Nature. For Maria Eduarda Lucena Viana, 13 years old, The Olympics transformed her relationship with nature. “My relationship with nature before was pretty sad. In fact, I did not care about nature or anything like that” she said, highlighting that now, besides the restoration she also has a lot of plants at home. Dafne Monteiro da Silva, 12 years old, considered that the competition helped the students, encouraging them to learn more about the environment and how it contributes to our lives. “It taught us how to restore, take care of the environment and nature.” she said. In her words, she also remembered that restoration help in the fight against global warming and explained what restoring nature means to her: “For me, it is very important to preserve the environment and nature, because they are vital to our lives and to the future of humanity. Without them, we won't live”.
