Students from Bujaru visit the Utinga State Park on an educational trip
The activity was part of the Arboriza Bujaru 81 years project, an environmental education initiative focused on urban greening and conservation.
Public school students from Bujaru, a municipality in the northeastern region of Pará, experienced something new last week: getting to know the trails, projects, and natural riches of the Utinga State Park in Belém up close. The trip, organized by the Bujaru City Hall through the Municipal Secretary of the Environment, was supported by the Institute of Forest Development and Biodiversity (Ideflor-Bio) and was part of the Arboriza Bujaru 81 years project, an environmental education initiative focused on urban greening and conservation.
The visit was a reward for the winners of a competition held among the municipal schools of Bujaru. The competition, which involved planting and caring for seedlings during the dry season, challenged the institutions to keep the trees alive and healthy. After a joint evaluation by the Secretary of the Environment and the Secretary of Education of the municipality, two winners were chosen: Maria José School in the urban area and São Sebastião School in the rural area.
The Secretary of the Environment of Bujaru, Leuda Coelho, celebrated the partnership with Ideflor-Bio and thanked them for their support in organizing the trip. “We asked President Nilson Pinto to help us provide this gift to the children. They welcomed us at the Utinga State Park with great care, offered snacks, bicycles for rides, a visit to the reintroduction project for the red-billed curassow, and they got to know the Casa da Mata, the Verônica Tembé Memorial, and then went to the Marituba landfill. It was an unforgettable day,” she stated.
Satisfaction - The activities in the Park were conducted by environmental technicians and managers from Ideflor-Bio, who accompanied the students through the trails and exhibition spaces, promoting moments of learning and environmental awareness. “Welcoming these children is a concrete way to inspire future generations to care for the forest and natural resources. Their joy reminds us why we work for conservation,” said Júlio Meyer, manager of the Belém Administrative Region of Ideflor-Bio.
The symbolic award ceremony was also part of the itinerary. Representing the president of the Institute, Nilson Pinto, the director of Management and Monitoring of Conservation Units, Ellivelton Carvalho, honored the students of Maria José School with a symbolic medal for first place. “Seeing these children’s commitment to caring for the planted trees gives us hope that we are forming more conscious citizens committed to the future of our planet,” he declared.
The award for the rural school was presented by Júlio Meyer, who has a strong connection with the communities of Bujaru. “I have a special affection for this territory. It is gratifying to see how environmental education can transform realities, even in places far from the big centers,” said the manager, who has worked on training and supporting the construction of ecological trails in the municipality, including the most recent one, the “Caminhos de Bujaru,” at the end of last month.
Fun - In addition to leisure and environmental education, the trip aimed to broaden the horizons of the students, many of whom had never left Bujaru or visited a state park. “You had to see the joy, the noise, the excitement. It was emotional. Many didn’t even know what a park was or what a landfill looked like. Today, they leave here with a different view of the environment and each person's role in its preservation,” reported the emotional Secretary Leuda Coelho.
According to the Bujaru City Hall, with the success of the visit, new editions of the Arboriza project are already planned, reinforcing the commitment to environmental education and sustainable development. The action also strengthens the ties between municipalities and conservation units, promoting a culture of responsibility and appreciation of Pará's natural heritage.
