For 17 years, the Aliança Energia Botanical Park has transformed contact with nature into learning, awareness and environmental preservation. Located in Aimorés, Minas Gerais, the space has established itself as a regional reference by uniting education, sustainability and interactive experiences aimed at the community.
Today, the park has 186 hectares reforested, the result of a continuous process of environmental recovery that began after the implementation of the plant. The Park has structures aimed at education, culture and leisure, such as an auditorium, arena theater, cultural space, interpretive and suspended trails (tree climbing), as well as an environmental education center. Since its inauguration, the space has received more than 128 thousand visitors from different regions of the country, expanding its operations beyond the Rio Doce Basin.
Throughout its history, the Park has been developing actions that stimulate reflection on environmental preservation, climate change and collective responsibility. The activities are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN 2030 Agenda, with actions connected to themes such as quality education and biodiversity conservation, in practice translated into free access to the park and continuous educational activities in the region.
The free visits receive students, teachers and members of the community in activities aligned with the environmental calendar of the Ministry of the Environment. Dates such as World Water Day, Environment Day and Forest Protection Day serve as the basis for workshops, trails, dynamics and educational actions that bring the public closer to environmental issues in a practical and accessible way.
“The Botanical Park is the most concrete expression of how Aliança operates in the territory: not only generating energy, but contributing to environmental recovery and local development. The transformation of the area demonstrates that it is possible to reverse degradation processes and create relevant spaces for the community”, highlights Joseane Debortoli, coordinator of Community Relations and Social Innovation at Aliança Energia.
Among the highlights of these 17 years are the receipt of the Hugo Werneck Award for Sustainability & Love of Nature, in 2016; support for the production of award-winning children’s animated short films in Brazil and abroad; the adaptation of activities to the virtual format during the pandemic, with the production of more than 50 educational videos, expanding the reach of the actions even without face-to-face visitation; in addition to the launch of the publications Environmental Education – Together for the Environment and Bird Guide of the Botanical Park, which brings together 94 species of birds cataloged in the area.
The Park has also become a symbol of environmental recovery in the region. The area where the space is now installed was previously a degraded pasture at Fazenda Viçosa and was later used as a construction site during the construction of the Aimorés HPP. After extensive recovery work, with the planting of thousands of seedlings of native species, the site is once again home to vast biodiversity of the fauna and flora of the Rio Doce Basin.
Free visits and scheduling
Visits to the Aliança Energia Botanical Park are free and can be scheduled by schools, institutions and interested groups. Scheduling must be done in advance by WhatsApp: (33) 99972-7882 or by e-mail [email protected].
On its 17th anniversary, the Aliança Energia Botanical Park reaffirms its role as the main platform for Aliança Energia’s relationship with the community of Aimorés, connecting environmental conservation, education and long-term territorial presence.
