Forests4Water Brazil: Community Climate Action

Good afternoon, dear donors,

It's actually been raining this past week - remember we told you that the old timers were saying the rains were coming early? We don´t think this is actually the real rains yet, just a rehearsal, but we´ll take what we can get, and it´s amazing how just a few days of gentle rain can transform the landscape overnight.

And it's most welcome, as we approach the planting season.Over the past couple of weeks we've carried out another six farm visits, so we're well up to speed. Which is just as well, since once the rains set in with a vengeance we can have days when even the most hardy teams in the toughest of vehicles can scarcely make it up to some of the planting sites! 

But so far, so good, and Deivid is very happy with the nursery situation. His seedlings are looking happy and healthy and his team has been scouring the forest for seeds, since the work of making seedlings depends on when the different tree species set seed. He reckons they've collected around forty kilos of seeds over the past few days, and collecting is only the start. As you know, different seeds require different methods of preparation, and all seeds require the right combination of water, oxygen, temperature and sunlight. Some species require scarification –  not as bad as it sounds! Scarification simply means breaking through the hard outer coat that is designed to keep the seed in a state of dormancy. This can be done by passing through the digestive system of an animal or bird, or by gently sandpapering the hard outer coat to let the seed emerge. It's a lot of work, but we have yet to persuade Deivid to pass the seeds through his own digestive system..... You can also soak the seeds to soften the outer coat. Some seeds even require fire conditions to germinate, can you believe?

Another news item is that we'll be welcoming a new forestry coordinator at the end of the month, and there is much to be done before he arrives. Deivid and Alfredo will be paying a visit to one or our colleagues in Rio state who is an expert in large scale reforestry and will certainly have much to teach them. They are also signed up to become drone pilots which is going to simplify our monitoring considerably. 

Lots going on down here. But we wouldn´t have it any other way.

So thank you once again for your amazing support. You are the best!

With much love and appreciation from the Iracambi Forestry Team  

PS  We forgot to tell you that we have another expert pair of hands helping out in the nursery. Her name is Fran, and we're thrilled that she has joined the team.

Good afternoon, dear donors,

Time is flying by, and we are well into our preparation for the 2021 planting season. Old timers are telling us to expect an early start to the rains, (connected with the deafening chorus of some varieties of thrush,) and, in any case, it´s never too early to be visiting local properties, explaining how the project works and clarifying expectations about exactly what we offer and what we expect from our partners!

Here´s a quick headsup to remind you. We define the priority restoration areas, collect and upload data on the property, take soil samples, discuss the most appropriate mix of species for each property – depending on soils, vegetation, sun, shade, distance from existing forest patches and farmer´s preference – work alongside the farmers to clear the weeds, prepare the ground, dig the holes and apply organic fertilizer, plant, monitor and provide two years’ maintenance, along with replanting in the case of seedling loss (usually in the region of 10 - 12%.) The farmers' commitment is to fence off the reforestry area, to help in every stage of the process, monitor the progress of the young trees and help with the maintenance.

For some time we have been investigating the possibility of Payment for Environmental Services, whereby farmers receive regular cash payments for the ecosystem services they provide through reforesting areas of their farms, and we have recently been encouraged to learn of a large-scale program to reforest 1.5 million hectares in the Mantiqueira mountain range in the states of Rio, São Paulo and Minas Gerais. Its objective is to help Brazil fulfil its commitment to the Paris Accord, as well as implementing an integrated climate mitigation strategy, assuring water to the urban areas of Rio and São Paulo, and providing incentives to landowners to restore forest areas on their property.

In past years the highly strategic Serra do Brigadeiro has been excluded from Atlantic Forest initiatives, and we are delighted to discover that now we are finally part of this program. Stay tuned while we learn more – we'll be sure to update you!

So this good news (amidst a deafening chorus of birdsong,) comes with a big thank you for your unfailing support. We couldn't do what we do without your help!

With love and so many thanks from the Iracambi forestry team

PS. Another quick headline. Remember our on-farm forest nurseries? We're working with local women to help them become the leading proponents of the project, caring for the young seedlings and then selling them as an extra income source. More soon on this!

Dear donors,

Today's IPCC report is a Monday morning wake up call.

UN Secretary General, Antonio Gutierrez, describes it as "code red for humanity."

The planet is desperately trying to get our attention, and it’s time to step up.  All of us have experienced the profoundly unsettling effects of the pandemic. All of us have been forced, in one way or another, to adapt our lifestyles. 

And, long before we're through the covid nightmare, we’re faced with a crisis that is even more profound. A climate crisis of wildfire, flooding, rising sea levels and unpredictable and violent weather events. The science is irrefutable. If we don't get real, it will be too late. 

But the good news is that, if we do get real, if we get started right here and right now, we can still do a lot to fix it.

There's no time to waste. 

We know what we need to do: Figure out our carbon footprint and take steps to reduce it. Walk more, drive less. Eat more plant- based foods and less meat. Turn down the thermostat. Buy less stuff, cut out single-use plastics, plant what we can where we can.

These past eighteen months have shown us that we, the people of the earth, are resilient. Covid 19 forced us all to stop, think, and adapt. To understand that we can’t go back to the same old, same old.

The only way through Hell is to move forward. And this is our chance. All of us doing what we can to restore the planet.  

And as the planting season appoaches, we want to thank you, dear donors, for doing your part. Like our hummingbird. 

Together we're restoring the rainforest. As the young trees grow they improve air quality, help replenish the aquifers, absorb greenhouse gases, and generate oxygen. Moving the planet, one tree at a time, from code red towards code green. 

So that everyone, everywhere will breathe a little more easily.

With much love and appreciation

The Iracambi Tree Planters

 PS If you have a minute, please check the attachment and see how we use every penny of your donations!   

Links:

• link to the IPCC report
• F$W receipts

Dear wonderful donors and partners,

We hope you are all doing well and staying away from covid?

This week we have another couple of interesting news items to share with you, and once again neither of them would have happened without your ongoing support to our forestry project. Thank you, thank you!

Let’s start at the beginning. If it wasn’t for your support, we wouldn't be planting trees on isolated farms. And we wouldn’t be needing every conceivable vehicle at our disposal (and then more,) to get them there.  So, as you can imagine, over years of heroic service, every Iracambi Land Rover has acquired its unique collection of scars and bruises. Which is why we’re now entering a competition to win a new one – please wish us luck! Voting is open to the public, so we'll keep you posted, and, if we're among the finalists, we’ll be asking for your help!

Meanwhile down in the forest nursery, next season's baby trees are looking super healthy, and nursery manager Deivid is very happy with the first crop of seedlings that are flourishing on the on-farm nurseries. Fingers crossed that we don't experience any extreme weather events – some of our colleagues in the state of São Paulo (around 500 km south of here,) recently lost a lot of their seedlings to five straight days of frost.

And now for the second news item. We are delighted to introduce our new nursery assistant, Averaldo. He, too, is a member of the local community who has recently discovered a real talent for working in the nursery. Welcome, Averaldo!

Not only do we have a new nursery assistant, we also have a new program coordinator -  Luiz. He´ll be joining us in a couple of months when he has finished up on his current job. We'll tell you more about him when he arrives, but here’s a newsflash. Luiz has fallen in love with the Serra do Brigadeiro mountains, and recently bought a piece of land adjacent to our new reforestry site. (This all happened completely independently of the job offer, but it has to be a good sign!) We are so happy to have a solid core of foresters in place before the planting season starts in October/November.

And finally for an item of housekeeping. We're busy scanning a bunch of receipts for larger expenses like salaries and items of nursery equipment. Every purchase we make comes with an official receipt for tax purposes, and, as you may suppose, not every supplier is eager to provide them…. We'll enclose them in our next letter. But we wanted you to see a little of where your money goes.

So many thanks for all your support, and we'll talk soon. (And, if we're among the finalists for a new car, we'll let you know right away!)

With love and appreciation from the Iracambi Forestry Team

PS Did you notice the carbon counter on our website?

Dear wonderful donors and partners,

We hope you are all doing well and staying away from covid?

This week we have a couple of interesting news items to share with you, because neither of them would have happened without your ongoing support to our forestry project. Thank you, thank you!

Let's start with the name of our project. Forests4Water. Last week we had an ecstatic contact from one of the local farmers Rosilene. She wanted us to know that, thanks to our reforestry efforts, her spring which had completely dried up, is running again. And – we are in the middle of the dry season!

We can't attach a video to this letter but here is a screenshot from the video she sent.

And yes, this is the object of the reforestation project – protect and restore water resources. But it’s so exciting when we can show the results!

Now for the second news item. In a small community like this, news travels fast, and for some time we’ve been attempting to create partnerships with local business and raise awareness over the importance of protecting the extraordinary forest in which we are lucky enough to live. It’s a slow process, particularly in view of other priorities such as covid, lockdowns and economic downturns. So we were especially happy to host a visit from nineteen staff members of the local cooperative bank which has decided to put its money where its mouth is and take active steps to offset their carbon footprint.

Since our mountains and forests shelter an important watershed that directly serves thousands of downstream water users, protecting water sources is an important place to start.  So we spent a happy day showing them the Iracambi campus, taking them on a forest trail, and explaining the nuts and bolts of reforestry. We then took them to visit a neighboring property where they were able to understand the critical importance of protecting water resources, and also see the spring that they are in the process of adopting. 

We are so excited to see the growing interest among the local business community of the importance of ecosystem restoration and we look forward to raising more awareness and recruiting more partners. Nothing succeeds like success! 

So once again, we want to send you a big thank you for your help and support. We'll keep you posted. 

With love and appreciation from the Iracambi Forestry Team.

PS In response to a pointed comment from that group, we are installing a carbon counter on our website!

PPS We've also been busy interviewing for the post of project coordinator. We had a lot of interest and in our next letter we´ll introduce you to the newest member of the team.....  .