More than three years ago, Copaíba started the project “Restoration of riparian forests of springs and water courses in the Rio do Peixe basin”, in Socorro/SP. The main objective of this project is to restore the riparian forests of ten springs and eight tributary streams of the Rio do Peixe, in the Mogi Guaçu River basin. In these areas, 12,600 seedlings of native species of the Atlantic Forest were planted, which today are already trees and are contributing to the protection of the springs in that region.

The success of forest restoration work does not stop there. It depends on the involvement of society. And it was with this in mind that environmental education activities expanded to the Municipal School of Lavras de Baixo, a neighborhood where the partner property of this project is located.

The environmental education activity carried out with the students directly contributes to expanding knowledge, giving them the opportunity to understand, in practice, the functions of the riparian forest. Through dynamics and exhibitions, each of the students learned about the importance of recovering degraded areas.

The rural school is located close to the area that is being transformed into a new forest. The more recovered and environmentally conserved areas in the region, the better the quality of life for the people who live there. “For the residents of the surrounding area, it is extremely important to understand the work that has been carried out in the neighborhood for some years. We hope that soon, the forest that is being formed will bring direct benefits to the owners and families in the surroundings. It will be this action today, which will reflect on the improvement of environmental quality in the future”, comments Ana Paula Balderi, project coordinator.

The Forest Restoration

The project “Restoration of riparian forests of springs and water courses in the Rio do Peixe basin”, was approved by the Mogi Guaçu River Basin Committee, and receives financial resources from Fehidro, under contract Fehidro 292/2014, MOGI Code 417.