100 dicas Rio de Janeiro / 100 Slow Food Tips - Slow Food Brasil

DICAS SUSTENTÁVEIS
SUSTAINABLE TIPS 119
Summers on Morro do João are boiling hot, so much so that, until
recently, the high temperatures caused some devastated areas of Atlantic
rainforest greenery to self-combust. In the early 1990s, frequent fires put
surviving areas at risk, including the one round the Morada do Sol condo at
the foot of the hill. Concerned about the situation, three residents decided
it was time to act. They began by planting trees to substitute the highly
inflammable grass. Then, in 1994, the three friends founded Florescer,
an NGO, in an attempt to reforest Morro do João. The condo residents
and friends of friends supplied seedlings and it was thus that, with very
little technical knowledge but plenty of will to change, reforestation of the
area began. Specialists later joined the group to oversee the work and
new residents rallied to join the project. Private resources were obtained
to build a seedling plot and a material storehouse. In little more than a
decade the area was revived. In the meantime, the NGO has evolved and,
after achieving its initial objective, has decided to get involved in more
wide-reaching causes, such as environmental education for adults and
children. Besides maintaining the reforested area of Morro São João, the
indigenous seedling plot and a vegetable garden, the NGO also organizes
meetings and recreational activities. Children from neighboring schools and
from Morada do Sol residents take part in nature trails, picking vegetables
from the garden and discussing the importance of preservation. If you wish
to take part, contact the NGO directly. The proceeds used in these projects
are the sum-total of symbolic amounts collected monthly from the 700
familes who live in the Morada do Sol condo.
R. General Góis Monteiro, 8. Tel. (21) 9842-0727.
contato@ongflorescer.org.br - www.ongflorescer.org.br