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

In the region where we work, planting season happens from October to March. This means our team is currently working hard to plant as many trees as possible before the rainy season ends. In an utterly strange year, your continued support has made this planting season possible. 

This limited planting season all depends on the rains. We need to make sure there is enough water in the soil so that the newly planted trees have a good supply so that their growth won’t be stifled!

We are currently planting at Fazenda Santa Fé. Where, in total, approximately 30,000 trees will be planted via two methods, the planting on seedlings, and the direct seeding method. Towards the end of November and into December we’ll be moving onto Fazenda Cedro and Fazenda do Futuro EcoAraguaia!

In the months and years to come, the impact of all these new trees will become apparent and we can’t wait to share this with you! This planting season also marks the official start of the planting of our first million trees. By 2022 these million trees will be in the ground. The next goal? 10 million trees! Will you continue to be part of this huge reforestation mission?

CONSCIOUS CAPITALISM, BLACK JAGUAR FOUNDATION AND MOVIDA

On October 28, 2020, the Conscious Capitalism Institute hosted a very special webinar 

During this Webinar, we discussed the role of business in global climate change mitigation.

After an introduction to the Conscious Capitalism Institute, BJF Founder Ben Valks shared the story of the Black Jaguar Foundation and updated us all on some of the latest progress from the huge Araguaia Corridor Project.

Next, we heard from Movida Rental Cars, BJF partner, and one of the first publicly traded B-corp certificated companies in Brazil. Movida shared how it is developing its strategy to reach the commitment to be Carbon Neutral by 2030, and why they chose to support the Black Jaguar Foundation by planting 1 million native trees in the Araguaia Corridor by the beginning of 2022!

Later broadening the discussion to explore possible ways for companies to strengthen their awareness and actions towards carbon mitigation.

To finish, opening up to questions from the audience which covered a wide range of topics; from the overall impact of the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor to the opportunities for corporate sustainability initiatives to the future of the carbon market in Brazil.

We want to say a huge thank you to the Conscious Capitalism Institute Brazil, on top of being amazing advocates for this project and providing support to us through the SOS Araguaia campaign and this Webinar, they have also donated a tree on behalf of each of their associates!

Thank you for the support and for inspiring a new way to conduct business in Brazil!

We know we always say it, but the support for our community is truly astounding! One partner we want to highlight this month is Welight. A Brazilian company who is working to make giving transparent.

They provide blockchain technology solutions, to allow individuals and companies to track the results of their donations through the Welight platform. This lets you see exactly where your donations are going and ensures legitimacy in an organization’s management of funds. Leaders in this field, Welight have an incredibly innovative business model and they have already found success in Brazil, distributing around $R500.000 to social causes so far.

In the past month, they have stepped in at a moment’s notice to help facilitate our SOS Araguaia emergency campaign to fight the fires in the Araguaia region, as well as helping us to set up our Brazilian donation platform. We rely 100% on donations so their help has been crucial in ensuring we can receive all of your amazing support.

Explore the platform >>>

Welcome our newest team member Carol Sacramento! Carol is now a crucial part of our growing team in Brazil and will be helping us develop and build the partnerships that will allow us to plant many more trees.

With a masters in Marketing and extensive, 15 years of experience working in the commercial sector, she made the career transition to the 3rd Sector. Following her passion and committing her time to help protect the future of our planet. She’ll be focusing on institutional development and economic sustainability as she helps the Black Jaguar Foundation to scale up our activities in the coming years. The next major goal will be 10 million trees by 2025 and from there it will only increase year by year until the entire Araguaia Corridor region is restored.

It already seems like Carol has been with the team for years and we are thrilled that she’s part of this epic reforestation journey.

Meet the rest of the team >>>

In two weeks time, your inbox and social feed will be filled with messages about Giving Tuesday. You may be asking yourself a few questions…

What is giving Tuesday? Why should I donate? Who should I donate to? Will my donation make an impact? What if I can’t afford to donate? We’ve been asking ourselves the same questions…

Giving Tuesday, also known as Dia de Doar in Brazil, began in 2012 to celebrate the generosity of giving. The aim was to create one day with the purpose of supporting causes close to our hearts. It is now a worldwide movement, celebrated each year at the start of the festive season. This year it will take place on Tuesday, December 1st.

But why should you give on this day?

This day is just like any other, and like every other day, the good causes you care about need funds to keep doing their important work. Maybe it seems strange then to have just one day when you’re called to give, or (for those of us who don’t like to be told what to do) we may even resist being instructed when to donate.

But more than raising crucial donations and helping to bring awareness to so many important causes, this day is a beautiful reminder of how connected we all are. This year, in the midst of a global pandemic and a climate emergency, we need each other more than ever. So, whilst Giving Tuesday is a day like any other, it can be a catalyst for a lot of love to be shared, and more importantly, a lot of positive change.

Who should you donate to?

That’s a good question and not one we can answer for you…Do your research, search online for a cause that you care about, one which is transparent and accountable, one which is making the change you want to see. For us, we work in reforestation and give to our planet, because when you give to our planet, you give to each and every one of us and all those to come.

Find out more about how the Black Jaguar Foundation uses your donations here.

Will my donation make a real impact?

There are so many initiatives that make a real impact in people’s lives. Whether this is on an individual scale, or in terms of the future of our planet. If you want to know where your money is going, ask the question and see if you like the answer.

What if I can’t afford to donate?

For many, donating money is not an option. In this case, you have a valuable voice that is capable of reaching many people who may not have heard about your chosen cause. Use it! Follow your charities, re-post on social media, tell their story. It will make a difference and giving Tuesday is the perfect time to start!

We sincerely hope that this Giving Tuesday you take part, in some shape or form. Get in touch for more information about how you can help. Thank you as always for your continuous support.

Warmest regards,

The BJF Team

Looking for inspiration? At the moment, our team are busy in the field planting as many trees as possible during the rainy season. Take a lot at some of the pictures from our last planting season…

In the coming years, we will be planting a lot more trees together, which means we need a lot more seedlings. Planting seedlings is one of the main methods we use in our restoration and so to grow all these new baby trees we are building a state-of-the-art BJF nursery, with a capacity of 500,000 seedlings!

This nursery not only comes with an increased capacity, but we’ll be using the best restoration technologies meaning even higher quality seedlings and more efficiencies. The nursery will also utilise solar energy to eliminate any dependency of non-renewable energy sources and we’ll be collecting and storing rainwater during the rainy season for irrigation. In the years to come, this nursery will produce millions of new native trees.

There will be a direct impact on the region, not only by helping to replenish the native biodiversity but through job creation both in the construction and maintenance of the nursery.

With your support, construction will start in the coming months, preparing us to scale up our activities next year. It will become the center of our operations in the region and a hub for restoring life along to the Araguaia Biodiversity corridor.

If you want to know more and find out how you can help with this next crucial milestone, get in touch!

It’s that time of the year again where our field teams are in full preparation mode, making sure that when the rains come, we are ready to plant! 

It’s been an unprecedented year and our team in the field has been nothing short of incredible. Adapting and creating solutions that mean we’ve been able to carry on our work in a safe and responsible way. This becomes even more important when we start planting. Our team increases during this period with the additional local support needed to help us plant the thousands of new native trees. To keep everyone safe, strict safety precautions will be in place at all of our restoration sites and nurseries.

An additional challenge in the Araguaia region this year has been the fires that have been raging in recent weeks. To support landowners and protect the recovering biodiversity in the region, we took immediate action. Establishing an emergency fund – SOS Araguaia – to help fight the fires and establish preventative measures. We’re now actioning fire prevention strategies for the coming year to stop the same level of destruction when the fires return next year…

However, in the midst of all this, amazing progress has been made. The new trees planted in November will mark the start of our first million trees that we will be planting in partnership with Movida and OneTreePlanted. 

You may ask why we don’t plant all year round? We’d love to! However, the region where we are currently planting has extreme dry seasons, the lack of water available to new plants during this period means their chance of survival is very low. This means our planting season runs from around November to March! Now, our team in the field will be growing seedlings, sourcing the highest quality seeds, constructing fences, and beginning to prepare the land ready for planting! 

We can’t wait to share all the planting progress with you in the coming months!

On Wednesday 9th September the BJF hosted its first webinar!

At the start of this year, 11 internationally renowned scientists completed an in-depth IMPACT STUDY of the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor and we are delighted to share the results with you!

During this webinar, we explored the results of the study and held a discussion around the impact for Brazil, and the world. In a year where deforestation in the country is set to reach an all-time high, we chose to focus on how ecological restoration can become part of a more sustainable future for Brazilian Agribusiness.

During the webinar we hear from Chief Researcher Andrea Lucchesi who provided a summary of the extensive impact study, before she was joined by expert panelists:

– Rachel Biderman – Executive Director, WRI Brasil
– Marcello Brito – President, ABAG (Brazilian Agribusiness Association)
– Ingo Isernhagen – Forest Conservation Researcher, EMBRAPA

Each provided a new perspective on the prospects and challenges associated with looking to large-scale restoration as a catalyst for changing how land use is approached in Brazil. You can see a summary of their points below:

Rachel Biderman

Rachel spoke about the experience of WRI with ecological restoration, highlighting the importance of having an economic revenue for the landowner. There must in general be benefits for local communities, products that they may take in a sustainable way from the newly restored forest.

Also, to enable a project the size of ours, there must be a huge investment in research and development, something BJF is already doing and that WRI invests in extensively. She noted the extensive knowledge base building in Brazilian civil society and the necessity to collaborate for a shared future.

Ingo Isernhagen

Ingo spoke about the challenge of restoring some of the Cerrado physiognomies, such as open grasslands, and how techniques must be improved yearly in order to have the best restoration possible. Going on to add that in the corridor region, there is a wide variety of landowner profiles, each one with a specific need (ecologically and economically). So, it is important to know how to approach each one of these profiles. Again all leading back to the need to conduct an in-depth analysis of each restoration site.

Marcello Brito

Marcello spoke about how the restoration agenda was, until very recently, a marginal topic for landowners. Now, that scenario has changed. But information still needs to be available for landowners, especially about the benefits they could get from ecological restoration. He also discussed how many people in the Amazon region never access the formal economy. It is hard for them to be “legal” because there’s no knowledge available, and no resources. One of the crucial points of value he sees in the work of the BJF, is the provision of this knowledge and resource base that is so far inaccessible for many landowners.

We are so grateful for all who participated, helped to explore a topic that has the potential to change the environmental landscape in Brazil, and beyond.

If you weren’t able to join us on the day, watch the recording here…

This recording will soon also be available with English subtitles, sign up here to receive this!