Environmental education takes on a whole new meaning when it takes place with your feet on the ground, your hands in the mud and the watchful eye of a child. This is what drives Terrinhas, a program run by the Terra Institute which, since 2005, has impacted thousands of students and educators in the Doce River Basin. In 2024, the program was recognized by UNESCO as a benchmark in environmental education – and it’s no coincidence.
Aimed at children between the ages of 10 and 12, Terrinhas works directly in public and private schools in five municipalities in the basin. Over the course of the school year, each class takes part in nine face-to-face experiences at Instituto Terra. There are whole days of fun activities, educational trails, field workshops and discussions about caring for water, forests and life.
More than just a school program, Terrinhas has become a place of belonging and discovery for students, teachers and, indirectly, their families. When a child comes home talking about a spring, a dam or a native tree, it is education that crosses walls and transforms homes.
Education that spreads
Each Terrinhas module is designed to encourage not only learning, but the multiplication of knowledge. With each visit, the children receive exclusive content and are encouraged to replicate what they have learned within their schools – be it with murals, campaigns, small collective actions or even conversations in the playground.
In 2024, the program took on a new dimension with the launch of the first season of TerrinhasCast, a podcast with episodes recorded by the students themselves. In a light and participatory format, the episodes show how children view issues such as global warming, school, community and the environment – and they surprise with their lucidity, creativity and awareness.
Impacts that speak for themselves
In 2024, Terrinhas achieved significant results:
- 550 students from 5th to 7th grade took part in the experiences;
- 52 teachers and 34 school managers were directly involved;
- 18 schools took part in the initiative in five municipalities in the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo;
- We estimate that more than 3,800 people were indirectly impacted through the children and multiplier educators.
But numbers are only part of the story. In each school, there are examples of concrete transformation: campaigns to collect used oil, the protection of springs on rural properties, projects to reuse waste and even books written by students inspired by the program.
And what lies ahead?
For 2025, Instituto Terra wants to go further. The next steps include:
- Increase the number of children and schools served;
- Strengthen the training of educators as agents of change in their school communities;
- Produce new seasons of TerrinhasCast, increasing the program’s visibility and actively listening to children.
What Terrinhas shows, year after year, is that environmental education doesn’t start with big speeches, but with small experiences that touch – and transform – those who take part.
And it is these seeds, planted at each meeting, that continue to germinate in schools, in homes, in rivers and in the future.