What if climate action began not on the outskirts of cities, but at the very center; inside public schools, alongside children, teachers, and neighbors? For Rafael Ribeiro, co-founder of Formigas-de-Embaúba, regeneration is a lived, collective practice. Since 2021, his team has created 52 mini-forests, planted over 29,000 native trees from 136 Atlantic Forest species, trained nearly 2,000 teachers, and engaged more than 62,000 people.

In this conversation, he reflects on the origins of the movement, the power of intergenerational collaboration, and what it takes to turn planting trees into lasting systems change.

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1) Why do you see schools as powerful sites for climate change?

Public schools are an overlooked form of climate infrastructure. São Paulo alone has nearly 5,000 public schools, forming a powerful network capable of cooling neighborhoods, restoring biodiversity and improving wellbeing; particularly in communities with limited access to green space. 

By reforesting schoolyards, children become active participants in regeneration. Students gain hands-on environmental agency while improving local microclimates, attracting pollinators, and integrating nature into everyday learning. In a city located within the degraded Atlantic Forest biome, restoring forests where people live and learn becomes both an ecological and civic act.

2) What was the moment that first sparked Formigas-de-Embaúba?

The seed was planted around 2019, I took a sabbatical to learn from reforestation initiatives in Africa, small-scale agriculture in Japan, and social entrepreneurship in Jerusalem. Across different contexts, I saw the same pattern: regeneration works best when it’s rooted in education and local care. 

When I returned to São Paulo, I volunteered to design and coordinate a collective tree planting at a public school. At the time, almost no one in Brazil used the term ‘mini-forest,’ and urban forestry was largely discussed at the city’s fringes. We wanted to challenge the idea that city and nature exist at opposite ends of the spectrum, and to reconnect what had long been separated by growing living forests inside public urban spaces.

This vision came together with my co-founder, Sheila Ceccon, an environmental educator and agronomist. We shared the same belief: restoration should happen where people already are. From that meeting point, Formigas-de-Embaúba was born.

3) How has recognition like the Green Changemakers Challenge supported your work? 

Winning the Green Changemakers Challenge came at a pivotal moment. It legitimized a then-unconventional model, amplified our story, and connected us with peers across education, biodiversity, and equity. Through Ashoka’s network, we refined our narrative and governance, learned from other changemakers, and gained the confidence to engage public policy and larger systems. The award provided funding, visibility, and a sense of belonging; an invitation to see our local practice as part of a global movement for regeneration.

4) What has your work taught you about leadership and intergenerational collaboration?

Planting a forest teaches interdependence. We work mainly in low-income, majority-Black neighborhoods and we are intentional about not being an “outside project.” We hire locally and ensure women and educators from the community hold decision-making roles.

Our teams combine environmental educators, agronomists, community leaders, and operational staff, because regeneration also needs governance. Across generations, these forests become shared spaces for children, teachers, and elders alike. Diversity, of people and species, is what builds resilience.

5) What is the vision for Formigas-de-Embaúba in the next five years? 

We want every child in Brazil’s mid-to-large cities to grow up next to a mini-forest. We already work beyond São Paulo, in public schools, health units, parks, and social housing. Over the next five years, we aim to scale to hundreds of sites across multiple states, using municipal partnerships, satellite and AI tools, and long-term community engagement. The goal is for urban mini-forests to become recognized green infrastructure and a standard part of climate-adaptation policy.

6) Can you share a story of transformation that has moved you most?

One story that stands out comes from CEU Capão Redondo. After a year-long program with three public schools, students transformed a 1,500 m² degraded area into a 3,000-tree mini-forest. During a heatwave, they measured temperatures: nearly 50 °C on the concrete while it was 26 °C under the forest canopy. The students began calling it ‘our refuge’, and Paula Zelita, the Educational Projects Coordinator at CEU, called it a ‘place of healing’, a space that restores climate balance, and belonging. For us, this is what impact truly means.

7) What is the vision for Formigas-de-Embaúba in the next five years? 

We want every child in Brazil’s mid-to-large cities to grow up next to a mini-forest. We already work beyond São Paulo, in public schools, health units, parks, and social housing. Over the next five years, we aim to scale to hundreds of sites across multiple states, using municipal partnerships, satellite and AI tools, and long-term community engagement. The goal is for urban mini-forests to become recognized green infrastructure and a standard part of climate-adaptation policy.

8) If you could plant one idea in the minds of changemakers around the world, what would it be, and what kind of world do you hope it grows into?

Start where you are. Change doesn’t require large grants or land, every skill has a role in regeneration. Small, steady acts compound into systemic impact. For us, we hope for a world where mini-forests are part of everyday urban life, and education, justice, and ecology guide how cities care for people.