Report: Maiva D'Auria / COP30 Brasil
Voice-over: Bárbara Menezes, Enrique Villamil, Laura Frederico e Paula Godoy

Reporter: What if each of us paused for a moment to plant and care for a tree? That is exactly what COP30 Youth Champion Marcele Oliveira, together with young activists, farmers, scientists, firefighters, and volunteers, did in Serra do Vulcão—one of the treasures of the Atlantic Forest in Rio de Janeiro—where they planted 60 native seedlings.

Reporter: The event was organized by the NGO Educação Ambiental e Ecoturismo and the startup Visão Coop. The name “Reforestation Drive” ties into the concept of the “Global Climate Drive” created by the COP30 Presidency. The goal is to combine collective efforts while recognizing the role of local communities in shaping solutions to climate challenges.

Reporter: For Youth Champion Marcele, a communicator and climate activist, a drive is about more than just planting trees.

Marcele Oliveira: When we talk about a Global Climate Drive, we are talking about recognizing territorial practices that protect nature and promote regeneration. It is very different from international negotiations, which often feel distant from people’s realities.

Reporter: She also underscored the importance of giving visibility to local initiatives:

Marcele Oliveira: Projects like this exist in many places around the world, but often authorities neither see, nor fund or support them. Imagine if more attention were given to them?

Reporter: During the activity, participants planted seedlings such as aroeira, paineira, yellow ipe, and mulungu. Along the trail through the hills, they passed areas scarred by fires and witnessed the impacts of destruction firsthand. The program combined community planting, citizen science, and culture. 

Reporter: For Denner Noia, project coordinator at Visão Coop and a resident of Complexo do Alemão, such initiatives carry even greater meaning when shaped by local perspectives.

Denner Noia: When we think about public policy, the logic is usually top-down, and that hasn’t delivered much. What we want is to try a different approach: one where the territory brings the demand to the government, so that policies make real sense.

Reporter: Luan Cazati, a 21-year-old student of International Relations, member of the NGO Conjuclima, and climate activist since the age of 16, views the initiative as an effort to confront the impacts of climate change.

Luan Cazati: When we come together in a mountain range like Serra do Vulcão to plant trees, we are actually planting hope. We are part of a generation trying to postpone the end of the world through small, local efforts.

Reporter: In Serra do Vulcão, each tree planted is also a seed of the future. The reforestation drive demonstrates that with unity and small acts, it is possible to face the immense challenge of the climate crisis.

Translation: Tadeu Azevedo (POET/UFC)
Proofreading: Michel Emmanuel Félix François (POET/UFC)