When our partners at Pernambuco University began setting up demonstration centres with black women’s groups in Brazilian slums, they never imagined that their work would find its way to the Palestinian Occupied Territories.

Women from the favela food security project in a favela of Recife learn how to use food waste and some old buckets to make fertiliser.

How do educators and young people respond to the storm of changes brought about by climate change and the pandemic? How do we connect, as individuals and citizens, with a future that seems terribly uncertain?

One exceptional organisation has been asking these questions and taking action.

The RAIN Pioneers Project encourages schools and communities to plant and maintain their own reforestation, rewilding or ecosystem restoration project.

When Brazil announced its lockdown, our partners in Recife refused to let Covid-19 stop them making a positive impact.

They went online as Rede Pela Transição, providing popular education on sustainable activities and empowering people to protect their food security and health.

Our partner Wender, an ecological engineer in Jequitinonha, has been visiting local schools in order to raise awareness about the importance of river restoration.

The kids who get their hands dirty studying ecology in these schools become ambassadors with their family members…

Bringing together culture, community and ecological education, RAIN’s collaboration with Pe da Vida in the Northeast of Brazil weaves together indigenous knowledge and scientific awareness surrounding sustainable agriculture. This education initiative aims to revive traditional approaches to farming by inspiring urban students to draw connections between their land, water, resources and food.

St Brendan’s in Bristol, one of our Pioneer Schools, worked with local organisations, businesses and The Woodland Trust. Here they are with a special delivery on site.

The students at New Hinksey Primary School heard about RAIN and our work helping students in Brazil to regenerate the Atlantic Forest. They decided to do a "Dress like a Tree" day as a fundraiser for RAIN.

Pé da Vida is an ecological education organisation at the University of Pernambuco, doing sustainable projects with schools and communities in Recife on the Northeastern coast of Brazil.

Much of the native vegetation (called cerrado) of the region has been lost to soya plantations, so the need for education about sustainable land use is critical.

The project, led by St Brendan’s Geography teacher Sophie Preece and Danny Diskin, founder of the Regenerative Agroforestry Impact Network (RAIN) brings together a group of environmental experts, enthusiasts, land owners and researchers.

RAIN activities began back in February when we sponsored a bus trip to the CAV Agroforestry centre. Farmers learned about regenerative farming techniques, organic pesticides and how to live in harmony with the land, but the most exciting outcome was yet to come.