Case Studies

In 1500, when the Portuguese first landed on what is now Brazilian soil, the Atlantic Forest covered an area roughly twice the size of France. Today, only seven percent of the original forested area is still covered with forest. The Atlantic Forest has many important properties, including being home to 38 of the 69 severely endangered mammal species found in Brazil – 25 of which live only in the Atlantic Forest.

Because so much of the forest has been destroyed, it is difficult for people in Brazil, and specifically São Paulo, to learn about the forest or have any connection with it. The São Paulo Botanic Garden (SPBG) helps to bridge this gap and has been doing so since 1928. SPBG is the only botanic garden in São Paulo state that has an Atlantic Forest reserve and houses Brazil’s largest orchid collection. The garden hosts a wide range of indigenous species and receives some 29,000 students a year in its education centre.

Botanic Gardens Conservation International grant

São Paulo Botanic Garden (SPBG) was awarded a Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) grant under Investing in Nature to further its work, in recognition of its valuable contribution to conservation. The grant enabled SPBG, among other things, to combine formal and informal education approaches to exploring the conservation of biological diversity by opening new forest walks. An example of one walk is the River Iparanga Spring trail. The 360 metre (1,180 foot) trail is accessible to all visitors and runs through the forest so that visitors can observe palms, vines and bromeliads on the way to the spring. Monkeys, toucans and sloths often make the walk even more exciting.

While the garden provides an important educational experience for visitors, the BGCI grant also helped it to forge external links with the local community. SPBG has engaged the local schools and teachers – students now have the opportunity to visit the garden regularly and teachers can use the garden to illustrate or reinforce classroom lessons. Some teacher training is given including new techniques and innovative ways to use the garden in combination with more traditional methods. As a result of this school-partnership programme, around 5,000 students have visited the garden and 150 teachers have been trained. The garden has had an important impact on local schools and the programme has also increased the vitality of the garden’s own educational resources by adding materials from workshops and allowing them to hire a trainee to support the programme.