REGUA hosts “Raízes que Lideram” event for women participants of the Replântica Project

On the last Saturday of October, the 25th, the Guapiaçu Ecological Reserve hosted the Roots that Lead event, aimed at women participating in the Replântica Project training courses in 2024 and 2025. The gathering sought to strengthen the women’s network established in 2024 and to empower women within the field of forest restoration.

Photo: Márcio Mendes.

The event brought together more than 80 participants and was a source of great joy for the entire organising team.

Several activities took place throughout the day, including a bio-jewellery workshop with Professor Fátima Piña-Rodrigues from the Federal University of São Carlos, and artisan and designer Monica Carvalho. There was also a discussion circle, affectionately named Among Them, which welcomed leading figures from the forest restoration sector, such as the Partnership and Project Coordinator at Sinal do Vale Institute, Katie Weintraub; fisherwoman and Mangrove Planting Coordinator at the Mangezal Fluminense Cooperative, Eugênia Maria dos Santos; Professor Claudia Moster from the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro; and forest engineer Aline Damasceno. These women formed a panel, sharing their experiences and insights in forest restoration, inspiring and encouraging other women to follow this path and demonstrating that there is room for everyone.

Photo: Márcio Mendes

The event concluded with the planting of a seedling of Eugenia guapiassuana, a species named by researchers in honour of the Guapiaçu region, in the municipality of Cachoeiras de Macacu, where it was first identified by Messias Gomes da Silva, a staff member at the Guapiaçu Ecological Reserve (REGUA).