Iracambi has officially launched Forests 4 Water. Now we need to ensure its longevity so we are asking our wonderful Iracambistas to become monthly donors. If we can get 100 of you to make a recurring donation of $10 a month we can plant trees and ideas for years to come. Together we can combat climate change and protect our most precious asset: water.

Our successful forest restoration model has already planted 100,000 trees in the Atlantic Forest. Now Iracambi will dedicate itself to planting an additional 10,000 in a pilot reforestation project which is easily scalable. But this is not merely a reforestation project, it will be coupled with education and advocacy. By actively involving the community in the planting of trees to protect their water sources it will mobilize the growing movement of environmentally conscious farmers and catalyze further green practices.

What’s the issue?

Rainforests are one of the largest natural carbon sinks that regulate global climate. And the evidence is clear: our rainforests are in trouble.

And this means trouble for all of us. Whether you live in a local Brazilian farming community whose agriculture-based livelihood is dependent on the rapidly drying water springs or whether you live in California where mandatory water use restrictions are being imposed due to record breaking droughts, the evidence is clear: our water supplies are in crisis.

Rainforests and water go hand-in-hand. Restoring our rainforest is vital both at the local level as dense forest absorbs moisture regenerating springs and at the international level where the forests act as a carbon sink stabilizing the rise in global climate and attacking the water crisis at its root.

How can we solve it?

1)            Expand our forest nursery to produce more native tree seedlings

2)            Work with local farming communities to reforest near springs and along stream banks

3)            Select productive tree species that can be sustainably utilized to bring economic gains to local farmers so that the conservation of the forest is more attractive than its destruction.

4)            Extend our unorthodox education program to raise awareness about the issue

5)            Assemble a team of young environmental activists to spread the word and plant the trees

We will use reforestation to campaign against deforestation. By involving the community in planting native trees alongside fruit producing trees in strategic areas to protect water sources we will demonstrate that the forest can have short term benefits for the community and long term benefits for the environment. Using reforestation as a tool for education and advocacy, we will encourage new ways of thinking about sustainable agriculture and forest care, catalyzing the growing movement of environmentally conscious citizens to protect our most precious asset: fresh water. We’ll focus on schoolchildren and college students and their families, and together we’ll mobilize the community to move from thinking to action. This is more than a simple reforestation program – it’s a challenge to change our collective consciousness
How can you get involved?

We are launching our largest ever fundraising campaign on Global Giving. Our wonderful number crunchers here at Iracambi have done the math: if we can get 100 people to make a recurring donation of $10 a month, we’ll be able to reforest 10,000 trees. All those trees will protect the water, prevent erosion and mudslides and store carbon. Plus, your generous support will give us a good shot at winning GlobalGiving’s grand bonus prize of $3,000!

Saving Toucans

Knock knock.. a policeman is at the door..

“Robin.. ROBIN?? The police are at the door” I call out.

Robin makes his way calmly to the front door. The policeman directs Robin to his car. The policeman takes out a bag. I can’t quite make out what they are sayin… THE.BAG MOVED! I SWEAR THE BAG MOVED!

“Come here, everyone come!” Robin calls over to the volunteers and I.

As we walk over a booming squark, which can only be described by watching Jurassic Park, echoes.

As I approach, I see a big yellow beak through a hole in the bag. TOUCANS, 3 BABY TOUCANS!

As the policeman drives off, Robin informs us that we will be taking care of these 3 baby toucans until they can fly. The volunteers head directly to their computer to check the species of toucan to find out its diet and other important information. It turns out these toucans are not native to the region although now there are quite a few of them around. Their diet consists mainly of banana, papaya and OTHER BIRDS EGGS. This makes life quite difficult as letting go of a species of toucan which is not native to the region may affect the local environment especially if they directly compete with other birds by eating their offspring. However, we cannot keep them in a cage for long as it is illegal. Dilemma! We are thinking of possible solutions but for now they are safe, fully fed and are beginning to pick up some flying skills.