It all started at the beginning of last year, when Red 1 took on a project to care for and revitalize the school garden. With the help of teachers Juliana Sá and Milena Macedo, students redesigned the vegetable garden, built fences, took care of the ground and planted seedlings, and put up signs identifying the plants being grown there. After a lot of dedication and care, the garden was beautiful and ready to serve the whole school. But Red 1’s work didn’t end there. Quite the contrary—it was only just beginning. The vegetable garden experience was so fascinating and memorable for the children that they naturally began to call themselves ‘guardians of the forest’. From there, the teachers expanded the project into various opportunities for research and experiences for the class.
Throughout the year, it was a real journey of learning about nature and the people who live in it. To gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a guardian of the forest, the class visited Alfredo Volpi Park, where the children were able to investigate some species of trees in the Atlantic Forest and learn about ways to preserve it.
“Right after this field trip, we had a holiday—a time when some families usually travel to the beach or the countryside, while others stay in São Paulo. To further their research on the topic, students carried out a survey to register any contact they might have had with a stretch of forest or with something reminiscent of the forest. Those who went to the beach or to the countryside reported a greater number of trees. The children who stayed in São Paulo, on the other hand, reported fewer trees. From this research, they realized that there are fewer trees in cities. The teachers then started thinking about why there is less nature in big cities. Students were then able to grasp the relationship between the growth of the city and buildings, and deforestation,” explained Camila Maia, be.Living’s Early Childhood Education coordinator.
Camila says that the teachers introduced students to the culture of native peoples as examples of people who live in nature and know how to interact with and use the Earth in a respectful and sustainable way. “It was very important for students to have this as a reference point.” It sparked a genuine concern about deforestation, without setting off a process of anxiety, but helping them understand the importance of nature and reflect on actions that can ensure the preservation of forests.”
It was then that teachers Juliana and Milena came up with the idea of planting saplings of trees native to the Atlantic Forest with the intention of compensating for the lack of trees that the children had identified in the city. “The idea behind planting these seedlings is to help reforestation, to take care of the city and to bring nature closer to us. In a conversation with Livia Ribeiro, from Reconectta, our sustainability consultant, we discovered that by planting 50 tree seedlings, we would be able to offset the gases emitted by the power consumed at both be.Living units over the last 12 months.”
The coordinator says that the school bought 50 seedlings of four native tree species: white ipê, purple ipê, jatobá and jacarandá. “The students themselves chose which species they would plant.” We got very tiny seedlings. Each student planted their seedling in a larger pot and took it home with the goal of taking care of it for 30 days. After this period, they brought the seedlings back to the school, which are now here with the other seedlings so that next year they can be planted in appropriate places.
The work was so significant that teachers Juliana and Milena were awarded the Project Award for Sustainability at the Congress and Awards of the Schools for Climate movement.
“We know that it was only possible to carry out this project, with the depth with which it took place, due to the power that these teachers and students have. This group of students was very powerful and everyone involved was engaged. They were attentive to their surroundings. The families reached out to tell us how much they talked at home about caring of nature. Sustainability is one of the pillars of our educational proposal and it is very gratifying to witness the children broadening their view of the world and the role they can play in society,” concludes our coordinator.
The project was so powerful that it is reverberating to this day and beyond the walls of our school! In the last few weeks, representatives of schools that are signatories of the Schools for Climate movement will be coming here to be.Living to pick up some seedlings and plant them in their schools. The idea came up during a conversation the Blue students had with their teacher Ju, in which they decided to write a letter to students from other schools, inviting them to come over and collect the seedlings and sharing with them the experience of being guardians of the forest. How beautiful it is to witness meaningful learning unfolding into meaningful actions for the world!