What if be.Living could plant its own forest? The question may sound poetic, but it’s already starting to take on a concrete form with the Regenerative Schools for the Climate project. Children, families, teachers, and our entire school community came together to make it possible to plant trees in the Amazon, in partnership with Reconectta and the Meu Pé de Árvore organization.
More than planting, it’s about regenerating: the forest, the bonds, and the relationship established with nature. “It’s a truly integrated program to promote the forest and also the people who protect it,” explains Lívia Ribeiro, environmental engineer at Reconectta and consultant for sustainability issues at be.Living. “Planting takes place in indigenous villages and, in addition to environmental regeneration, helps generate income and promotes social development for these communities. It’s the strength of the collective that makes the forest possible.”
So far, be.Living has already planted approximately 30 to 40 trees. The first goal is to reach the same number of trees as the school has children. Further on, the dream is bold: to reach 1,500 trees and name an entire forest after our school.
Click here to discover the impact and see how many trees have already been planted.
The planted trees also carry a symbolic dimension. Each child, together with their family, can choose the name that will be recorded for the seedling and, in addition, receives the Regenerative Student certificate. “This certificate is a form of recognition, of showing that each contribution matters. It gives children and families the sense that they were part of something bigger, that they effectively contributed to a forest continuing to grow.”
For the engineer, assigning name and meaning is essential at a time when we often feel apart from nature. “I always say that we take care of what we know and what we are connected to. If there’s no affection, there’s no care. That’s why naming the tree, receiving a certificate, seeing the count of planted seedlings growing in real time… All of this strengthens this connection.”
The bond is not only with the individual tree, but with a territory and its culture. Part of the planting takes place in ecological restoration areas, aimed at recovering ecosystems, and another part in agroforests, which combine native species and productive trees such as cocoa and coffee, generating not only to income, but also food for indigenous communities. “It’s a decision made together with the villages. They are the ones who know the land, what needs to be regenerated, and what can become a source of subsistence as well. This brings ecology and social life closer together.”
Lívia explains that this integration is also an exercise in climate justice. “Indigenous peoples have contributed the least to climate change and are the ones who contribute the most positively to tackling it. They are the true guardians of the forest, and bringing this dialogue into the school is a fundamental layer of the project,” she emphasizes.
Meu Pé de Árvore completes this network: it’s the organization responsible for closely monitoring planting and management in southern Amazonas. “They are our people on the ground, the ones who are alongside the communities, ensuring that it’s not just about planting, but also caring for, monitoring, and strengthening the growing forest,” explains Lívia.
Planting trees is a symbolic gesture, but also urgent and real. “Deforestation and fires are the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil. Recovering degraded areas has a huge impact on climate change mitigation and adaptation. Each tree is a carbon reservoir, a guardian of biodiversity, a guarantee of water for the future,” says the engineer.
At be.Living, each seedling planted is also transformed into learning. Each certificate delivered, in recognition. Each bond, in seed.
“When a child understands that they can contribute, that they can take care, they discover the power to transform,” concludes Lívia. “This is what this project teaches us: that preservation of the forest is a collective endeavor, but the connection with the forest is born within each one of us.”