Dear donors.

First of all I want to announce that the SALVEASERRA project: “Trees and Education Protect the Atlantic Rainforest”, was the Environment category winner of the 2011 Wave of Change campaign run by the Neutrogena cosmetics company. This was really great and rare opportunity for us and with this big donation we can make plans for the next 4 years, expand our operations to 2 or 3 neighboring counties, receive more groups monthly, hire guides and teachers to help us and provide visitor with information leaflets and DVDs on the Atlantic Rainforest and agroforestry techniques.

With this new donation we can also make plans to increase the reforestation of our areas and the development of the agroforestry demonstration plots. We are planning to plant 5000 trees per year.

Here the Neutrogena campaign site: http://www.neutrogena.com/category/wave%2Bfor%2Bchange.do

We would also like to inform you that from GlobalGiving Gift Card Challenge we are going to receive a bonus grant donation to plant 800 trees in the rainforest of Concordia Mountains Wildlife Sanctuary.

http://www.globalgiving.org/gifts/?rf=fb. This is the perfect right time because the planting season starts now.

We continue with our activities as you will see in attached pictures and links. 

There are pictures of students visiting the Wildlife Sanctuary, of lectures and presentations to prepare new students to participate of the “Day in the Forest” ecological trail, of the acquisition and delivery of seedlings and of a research team from the Ministry of Agriculture inspecting forest experiments plots they have there with us since 2000.

Link 1: Slideshow of a student’s visit to Concordia Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary. You will also see some pictures of a group of bat researchers that come regularly to our area where they have found more than 30 different species of bats.

Link 2: In this TV video show you will see our deforested mountainous Atlantic Rainforest region during the dry and incendiary period, the Wildlife Sanctuary and a bit of my work. In Portuguese.

Link 3: Newspaper article with interview on agroforestry and organic agriculture. In Portuguese.

As you see, with your help, things are going well and we have great plans for the next years.

Please accept my sincere thanks.

Roberto Lamego

Ruins of old coffee farm aqueduct.

Students preparing to leave Wildlife Sanctuary.

Slideshow for school going to "Day in the Forest"

Lecture in another school.

Students listen attentively.

First lot of 500 tree seedlings.

Coffee seedling for agroforestry plantation.

Three species Palm trees for this year plantation.

Ministry of Agriculture agroforest experiment.

3500 trees of different species planted in 2000.

Mesuring experiment parcels and counting trees.

Links:

• "A Day in the Forest' ecotrail. Valenca city school visiting Ser
• TV Show. See our deforested region and my work. In Portuguese.
• Newspaper article on agroforestry and organic agriculture.