This fall(our spring) has been a hectic race of fundraising, Junior Scientists, and future plans. We started things off with our amazingly successful September Fundraising challenge in which we raised the funds to buy a Volkswagen Kombi. This Kombi is a dream come true for us, as it will allows Iracambi to shuttle students in from areas that do not provide transportation. This mean that our Junior Scientists program will reach new heights in the coming year. This was only made possible by our wonderful donors, friends, and Iracambistas. For the full project report please visit this link. http://www.globalgiving.co.uk/projects/brazils-junior-scientists-restore-rainforest-iracambi/updates/?-report-approved
The Junior Science program this quarter went off without a hitch, save for a few days of stormy weather. Our crew of lecturers was started off by nursery manager Toni. Toni taught our young scientists about bio-regions and how to map them. Our next guest was Leandro, Graminha’s resident monkey man. He engaged the students to question why things work the way they do, and set things off with a nature walk and a lovely demonstration about the colorful effects of acai. Finally, we ended our program with the help of Clelio a biologist from Muriae. Clelio is a bird fanatic and taught our students the finer points of our passerine companions. He gave a brief history about bird types and adaptions and illustrated the role role of birds in seed dispersal. Overall, the lessons were well received and enjoyed by our wonderful students.
To wrap up the year, Iracambi has been going full force towards a new goal. We are looking to establish Iracambi as a center for scholastic and cultural exchange between Brazilian and foreign students. We have been gathering endorsements, writing project proposals, and chasing up corporate sponsorship to try and make this happen. All of this while continuing to campaign for the acquisition of more private reserves in our immediate area. We are hoping that in the new year Iracambi will continue to progress towards our next goal, and will continue to seek support from our vast network of friends across the globe.
We leave things off with an open invitation. We invite you all to come join us and share in our success and progress. You might even get to ride in the Kombi or stay in the Graminha Mountain House! All in all, we have had a successful year and look forward o welcoming a new one.