The Copa\u00edba Environmental Association whose mission is to conserve and restore the Atlantic Forest of the Peixe and Camanducaia river basins. Among the various actions carried out, the production of native seedlings is an area of fundamental importance, as it supplies the institution's forest restoration projects.<\/p>\n
It is in the Copa\u00edba Forest Nursery that the seedlings are produced. There are more than 150 species of trees produced. Among them are some fruit trees, such as pitanga, ara\u00e7\u00e1, uvaia; noble species, such as jequitib\u00e1, jatob\u00e1, copa\u00edba, and several other species that enrich the forests of the region.<\/p>\n
And it all starts from the seeds that are collected in different fragments of native forests. For the collection of fruits and seeds, some criteria are followed, such as the amount of fruits that are collected. \u201cWe always collect a maximum of 30% from the fruits and seeds of the trees, so that the rest of these fruits can feed the animals or disperse naturally\u201d, comments Vanessa Manias, coordinator of Viveiro Florestal Copa\u00edba.<\/p>\n
Collecting fruits and seeds became a voluntary action for the institution's employees. And Copa\u00edba has encouraged more people, landowners, nature lovers, to learn more about plants through this action. \u201cI think it's very important to contribute to this activity, because in my case, I use seeds from my own reserve. The trees planted on my property now bear fruit and contribute to Copa\u00edba's work. In addition, I like to collect, because it brings the knowledge of native trees that I didn't have and started to have\u201d, comments Hamilton do Carmo, volunteer collector.<\/p>\n
Copa\u00edba expects the collaboration of more people. The Viveiro Florestal team believes that in addition to contributing to the production of seedlings, the volunteers acquire a great deal of knowledge about these species.<\/p>\n