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Ana Paula Mendes

Feb 25
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BJF T-shirt now available: the Tee that plants trees 🌱

By News Home

To celebrate the start of the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, we have something very special for you! We’ve teamed up with local Amsterdam artist Nina Biddle to create a limited edition Black Jaguar Foundation T-shirt!

Not only can you now wear this beautiful, unique design, but with every T-shirt sold we’ll be able to plant 2 trees. T-shirts for you, trees for all!

Adorning the back of this T-shirt you’ll find a set of tree rings. But not just any tree rings, these tree rings have tiny dancing people swirling and twirling within the lines. Tree rings tell us so much about each tree but also about our climate and our planet’s cycles of nature. This T-shirt is an ode to our intertwined relationship with nature and the beauty that can happen when we work with nature, instead of against it. 

We can’t wait to see you all wearing your support for our planet! 

Get your limited edition Tee today >>>

Feb 01
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How much does a tree cost?

By News Home

The cost to plant a tree varies depending on multiple factors, primarily the location and type of techniques used. After all, the cost of a tree is much more than simply the price of a seed or seedling!

All of our work is in Brazil and takes place along the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor, and we use a mixture of 5 restoration techniques, which are dependent on the area. We calculate that to complete every stage in the planting process, it will cost us €7 per tree. But what does this actually involve?

Let us tell you!  

Map displaying the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor region.

Community

It all starts with a community, and at the Black Jaguar Foundation we invest a lot in our community. We work in a unique way, we don’t buy land, but instead partner with local farmers who have an environmental deficit. 

What is an environmental deficit I hear you ask? Under Brazilian environmental law, landowners must leave a percentage of their land to allow nature to return. Their environmental deficit is the shortfall of land that must yet be designated for nature, in order for farmers to meet this legal requirement.

So, in our project, farmers are our partners. In this partnership the farmer allows us to reforest their land, in return, they are able to comply with the legal regulations. Both they and the community also benefit from the restored ecosystem services. Such as improved soil quality, restored water supply, natural pest control, and so much more! Crucially, they are also playing an active role in changing the fate of our planet! They are our heroes! 

Environmental education and engagement workshops are also held by our team in the field, however these have had to be suspended to comply with Covid regulations. These teach about the benefits associated with restoring and preserving forests, building on the local knowledge to nurture the growing environmental consciousness in the region. 

Research

Another stage that must happen before we plant is some crucial investigation. We must know what the original ecosystem looked like, as only then can we restore it. This is a crucial part of the process. The wrong trees will fail to bring the biodiversity of the region back. And that’s what it’s all about! At the Black Jaguar Foundation our first task was to extensively map the whole Araguaia corridor area, looking into the prior land use, the soil composition, the existing flora and fauna and much more. Carefully then devising a plan to re-create the ecosystem and restore it to its former glory.

Our research is ongoing and we are constantly learning and adapting our techniques and our approach.

1985

2017

Graphs showing the development of land use in the region, Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor Impact Study 2019-2020.

Planting

Now it’s almost time to plant! First is the small matter of purchasing the seeds, building the nurseries and growing the seeds into healthy strong seedlings! Our team will then get to work preparing the land, this means constructing fences to prevent cattle grazing on the new trees, removing invasive grasses and controlling ant populations. A little fertilizer and then we’re ready to plant! In some sites we plant seedlings and some we sow seeds. In some sites all we need to do is protect the area or boost the diversity of species and nature will do the rest.

5 METHODS

OF RESTORATION

PLANTING SEEDLINGS
DIRECT SEEDING
NATURAL REGENERATION
ENRICHMENT
DENSIFICATION

Monitoring & Maintenence

Your trees are now in the ground, then what? If absolutely everything goes according to plan we’ll continue to monitor the restored forest and check its progress using a range of indicators, but no further interference will be needed. Sometimes however we may need to intervene and help the new forest along to make sure biodiversity is restored. This is why we conduct regular checks for 3 years. With subsequent checks at the 5, 10 and 20-year marks. 

So for just €7 we do all of this! Now that’s good value for money!

Establishing our official monitoring protocol with André Nave, Director of Bioflora, in the field.
Jan 21
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Tarcila Ursini is BJF’s first Brazilian Ambassador

By News Home

We would be nowhere without our amazing supporters and donors and so we’re honoured to announce our newest and first brazilian ambassador, who will represent our community and help to share our work with the world!

Tarcila Ursini is bringing her wealth of knowledge and experience to our world-renowned group of Ambassadors and has in the past years been instrumental in progressing our work in Brazil! 

Tarcila plays a prominent role in the sustainable development of the Brazilan business sector and in addition to working as an independent advisor to large companies, impact startups and civil society organizations, also lectures on the theme of governance, sustainability and the new economy. Since being introduced to the BJF in 2019 she has been an un-official ambassador and so we’re excited to formally have her as part of the team.

Jan 21
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Your SOS Araguaia campaign Accountability report 2020

By News Home

Since 2017 the Black Jaguar Foundation has been working with the ecological restoration of degraded Legal Reserves (RLs) and Permanent Preservation Areas (PPAs) in the region of Santana do Araguaia (PA) and Caseara (TO). Our goal is to restore approximately 1 million ha along the 2600km length of the Araguaia River Corridor.

CAMPAIGN SUMMARY

In October 2020, the advance of the fires in the region surprised us and was the first time we saw our restoration areas threatened by the flames.

Thanks to a great joint effort of our partners Movida Aluguel de Carros, Instituto Capitalismo Consciente and 101 donors like you, we were able to raise R$20,810.33 in record time with the SOS-Araguaia campaign.

Together we helped the local brigade of Parque do Cantão (TO) with food, equipment and also supported vulnerable families to help rebuild what the fires destroyed.

“We all have the power to change. What are you waiting for?”

Yann Arthus-Bertrand

SEE WHERE YOUR MONEY WENT!

Honouring the commitment of transparency with your financial support of the SOS-Araguaia campaign, we share the following figures showing how the collected funds were put to use, and photographic records of the courageous action taken by the fire brigade of Parque do Cantão (TO).

WHAT NEXT?

Our goal for 2021 is to support the development and training of the municipal fire brigades of Santana do Araguaia (PA) and Caseara (TO), and to put in preventive measures so that the region where we operate does not suffer again from fires like those that spread in 2020.

On behalf of the hundreds of people benefited by the SOS-Araguaia campaign, we thank you for your support and belief in our work!

We will work to make 2021 a year where we celebrate much life, and zero fires in the region!

Warmest wishes,

Black Jaguar Foundation Team

All the work of the Black Jaguar Foundation would not be possible without you and our dedicated partners.

SOS Araguaia campaign partners
Jan 21
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UN Climate Ambition Summit: BJF Partner, Movida CEO, selected to inspire the world

By News Home

The United Nations, United Kingdom, and France were proud to be co-hosting the Climate Ambition Summit 2020, in partnership with Chile and Italy. This was a monumental step on the road to the UK-hosted COP26 next November in Glasgow.

It brought together leaders who are ready to make new commitments to tackle climate change and deliver on the Paris Agreement, five years since it was adopted on December 12, 2015.

Leaders across government, business, and civil society gathered for this online summit as the world deals with coronavirus. But the science is as urgent as ever and tells us that we need to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5C degrees. We know climate change will not wait. Action must be taken now, together, for our planet, so we can build back better.

Renato Franklin, Movida CEO, was the only Brazilian delegate to speak at the 2020 Climate Ambition Summit. He reflected on the progress Movida has made this year and highlighted their milestone partnership with the Black Jaguar Foundation.

Movida Car Rental is committed to changing the way their business operates and putting sustainability at the core of their business model.

This revolves around three key areas; “The first is mitigation, using renewable fuels and electric cars. The second is compensation: we neutralize our emissions and those of our customers…and the third pillar is adaptation.”

Watch on-demand now >>>

Jan 21
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First Black Jaguar Foundation Billboards hit the streets

By News Home

This year you’ll be seeing even more of the Black Jaguar Foundation with our first national Billboard campaign in the Netherlands! Seen here lighting the way to Schiphol airport on twin billboards…

With the launch of our Donate a Tree page, anyone can now donate any number of trees and become part of this huge reforestation mission. Now we just need to spread the word. Look out for our billboards around the Netherlands as we’ll have more launching throughout the year!

This is just the beginning and with your support, we’ll continue to grow and be able to plant many, many more trees. A huge thank you to Hillenaar outdoors for their support with their perfectly placed, digital billboard.s

While so much of our amazing community exists around the world, all of our work is for the purpose of planting millions of trees in Brazil. To do this we need local partnerships with landowners who allow us to restore their land. And so, we also have billboards in the Araguaia region in Brazil, promoting partnerships to local landowners.

This is one small part of our increasing work to increase engagement with these local stakeholders! In 2020, we launched a Whatsapp video awareness campaign, radio advertisements, and in 2021 we will commence an in-depth research study into landscape governance in the region. These local partners are the heroes of our project and it’s about creating a win-win for the communities and our planet!

Jan 12
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UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration

By News Home

We have entered the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration! From this year and until 2030, humanity must make efforts to protect and restore ecosystems all over the planet.

The decade was instituted by the United Nations General Assembly. The idea is to build a large-scale movement for restoration, uniting nations, scientists and organizations. With the motto “ten years to restore the planet, ten actions that count”, the initiative takes place precisely in the timeframe established by scientists as critical to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

The actions proposed by the UN are: empowering a global movement, financing restoration on the ground, setting the right incentives, celebrating leadership, shifting behaviours, investing in research, building up capacity, celebrating a culture of restoration, building up the next generation and constant learning and listening.

With an ambitious goal of restoring 1 million hectares of degraded areas along the Araguaia River basin, the Black Jaguar Foundation is proud to be part of this historic moment. Restoring this part of the Cerrado Savanna and Amazon rainforest is of vital importance for the future of the next generations around the world. In this Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, will you join us to make history and change the fate of our planet?

Find out more about how you can get involved today!
Donate a tree |  First600 
info@black-jaguar.org

Explore more >>>

Written by Dimitrio Schievenin – Project Coordinator

Dec 24
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2020 Reforestation Round-up

By News Home

Celebrating you and all the life you are helping to restore!

Let’s end 2020 on a high and remember some of the milestones from the year. In the interest of looking forward to all the trees to come, we’re also thinking about the challenges for 2021 and how we’ll be can overcome these together!

30,000 Trees planted…

…through November and December at Fazenda Santa Fé. These are the first seedlings of our first million trees! With 76,000 trees planted in our pilot phase, over 100,00 trees have now been planted. With 970,000 more to come next year! 

Our first ever webinar!

2020 meant finding new ways to keep you updated on what we’ve been up to. In September, Together with the lead researcher of the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor Impact Study, Andrea Luchessi, and expert panelists from our Brazilian Advisory Board, we discussed how large-scale restoration can be a part of Brazil’s sustainable future.

Launch of our Donate a tree page!

Now you can donate any amount, big or small and become a crucial part of this huge reforestation mission…Click here to find out more about the 12 crucial stages involved in the cycle of restoration! 

As our planting work expands, so does our team…

This year we welcomed Carlos Willyan, Piet-Hein, and Carol to our core team, not to mention our amazing planting team which grows year upon year. Next year we’ll need an additional 300 team members in the field to complete the planting of the first million trees!

2020: the year of partnership!

So many new and renewed partnerships have been formed this year. In such uncertain times, this has been an amazing testament to our sponsors’ commitment to preserving our planet. To name just a few of our amazing partners from 2020…

A couple of our highlights with the partners supporting the planting of our first million trees, Movida Car Rental and One Tree Planted…

Joining forces with One Tree Planted and being part of their campaign with Arsenal’s Héctor Bellerín

In June this year, we partnered with One Tree Planted and we were matched to plant the trees from Héctor Bellerín’s campaign to donate 3,000 trees for every Arsenal win! Along with private contributions, 58,617 trees were raised!

Movida and actor Cássio Reis visited the project…

…showcasing the work going on, the commitment of our team, and the impact of Movida’s carbon-free initiative, in this inspiring video…

…Not to forget the heroes of our project, our partner farmers!

Our local landowner community is growing and making this reforestation possible by working with us to restore their degraded land.

Thank you so much for all of your support through 2020 and we invite you to join us to continue to bring more life and hope in 2021.

Warmest wishes,

The BJF Team

Dec 11
Love0

By News Home

AUCTION

“Às margens do Rio Araguaia”

To celebrate and support the Araguaia Corridor, the Brazilian artist Andréa Tolaini has painted the work of art “On the banks of the Araguaia”, in honour of the Black Jaguar Foundation.

To celebrate and support the Araguaia Corridor, the Brazilian artist Andréa Tolaini has painted the work of art “On the banks of the Araguaia”, in honour of the Black Jaguar Foundation.

Representing our deep connection with nature, this work highlights the jaguar, the symbol of Biodiversity in Brazil and the guardian of life on the Araguaia.

80% of the proceeds from the auction will go to the Black Jaguar Foundation. The buyer will also receive a certificate to celebrate that 100 native trees will be planted in their name, in the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor, in addition, they will also receive a window in the First 600 Campaign.

Participate by bidding through the link below!

Representing our deep connection with nature, this work highlights the jaguar, the symbol of Biodiversity in Brazil and the guardian of life on the Araguaia.

80% of the proceeds from the auction will go to the Black Jaguar Foundation. The buyer will also receive a certificate to celebrate that 100 native trees will be planted in their name, in the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor, in addition, they will also receive a window in the First 600 Campaign.

Participate by bidding through the link below!

About the art

This work represents the resistance of all nature around the Araguaia River. Resistance in existing. The riverine people, the indigenous people, the fauna and flora.

In the centre is the tree, which represents the great ancient soul of the forest, protected by the beings around it and protecting them in the same way.

The river, in the work, represents the force that sustains all the other elements. The water, maternal, feminine, as the generating base of life.

The sun as the masculine force, and the representation of what gives strength and nourishment to life.

The two jaguars present are the guardians of the surroundings of the Araguaia River, and also, one more symbol of the feminine and masculine. This almost mythical figure from Brazil; the jaguar represents in the work everything that, even if we do not see it, acts on life on earth.

Finally, the people who inhabit the forest, their use of land and water, are represented as nurturers of their existence.

Technique: Acrylic paint on canvas.
Size: 90cm x 90cm
Artist: Andréa Tolaini
Nov 30
Love0

Give life this Festive Season

By News Home

Will you join us and make this festive season the year to give the gift of life?

For the first time, you’ll be able to give the gift of a new native tree with the Black Jaguar Foundation. You can give this gift of life to a loved one, a friend, a colleague or you can simply donate in your own name. A gift from you, to our planet.

Will you bring more life, more beauty and more hope this festive season?

With your gift, you will directly help to preserve our planet, and a future that we will all share in together. In celebration of this, you, or the recipient of your gift, will receive a personalised certificate, showing them where these new native trees will be planted.

For just 5 euros we carry each of the 12 steps in the BJF restoration process. From creating local partnerships, to purchasing the seeds, to planting, to 3-years of monitoring and maintenance.

Find out more…

We want you to help us spread the news and let everyone know that we’ve got the solution to your holiday gift-giving.

HOW TO JOIN THIS CAMPAIGN :

STEP 1 : GIVE THE GIFT OF TREES HERE 
STEP 2 : CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD OUR CAMPAIGN IMAGE & TEXT OR WRITE YOUR OWN STORY
STEP 3 : SHARE THE LOVE AND POST ABOUT THE AMAZING GIFT YOU’VE JUST GIVEN ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
#TreesAreTheSolution