INTERPRETATIVE TRAILS
Interpretative trails in natural areas have been recommended in environmental education programs for providing direct contact with the natural environment, facilitating learning and values construction, raising awareness, and fostering the development of effective attitudes and actions. In this context, the Inn offers three circuits of interpretative trails classified as guided and self-guided trails with an approximate distance of 2.0 km.
During the guided interpretative trail, guests are accompanied by Fernando Martins, the Inn’s biologist, who interprets ecological attributes (fauna and flora) as well as physical attributes (soil and water). On the self-guided interpretative trail, guests explore the circuit freely, and throughout the course, vertical signage (signs) provides safety and encourages guests to interpret and observe the attributes of nature.
The use of interpretative trails is a crucial strategy for understanding nature, ecosystems, and their ecological relationships. It serves as a means of communication to captivate, provoke, and stimulate reflections in various audiences, creating opportunities for responsible and sustainable growth.
NATIVE BEES
Native bees or stingless bees (ASF) have been present in Brazil long before foreign species arrived. Also known as “meliponas,” they inhabit various biomes in Brazilian territory with over 300 species. They feed on pollen taken from flowers and build their nests in hollow tree trunks.
With the aim of presenting meliponas as a tool for environmental education, the Inn has established a “Stingless Bee Condo” with 8 standard INPA boxes. Native bees in our area find favorable conditions for producing high-quality wildflower honey, using the diverse native forest areas in the region as their foraging grounds, ensuring flowers almost year-round. The bee species found in the region are from the Serra da Mantiqueira and include jataí (Tetragonisca angustula), tubuna (Scaptotrigona bipunctata), mirim emerina (Plebeia emerina), and mandaçaia (Melipona quadrifasciata). Advocating for the lives of bees and recognizing their crucial role in the planet’s well-being is a direct call for pesticide-free agriculture for the benefit of the entire population.
“LITTLE ONES AND NATURE” PROJECTS
Environmental education is a process of recognizing values and clarifying concepts, aiming at the development of skills and the modification of attitudes towards the environment. It seeks to understand and appreciate the interrelationships between humans, their cultures, and their biophysical environments.
Conscious of its role in creating a fairer society, Pousada Quinta dos Pinhais has been partnering with the Municipal Education Department to conduct Environmental Education workshops with students from the local school and residents of the Sertãozinho neighborhood.
The project’s objective is to promote environmental education workshops for school students, children, adolescents, and neighborhood residents. The goal is to provide conditions for increased participation in advocating for quality of life and the environment. This project introduces nature in all its forms and beauties, highlighting curiosities and vulnerabilities. It demonstrates the positive and negative consequences of human activities, always emphasizing local and global environmental preservation. The project encourages critical reflections on environmental issues and quality of life, aiming to stimulate participants to exercise citizenship and adopt attitudes for environmental preservation, conservation, and contribution.
Workshop Themes:
– Freshwater: Its cycle, importance, and consequences of pollution;
– Brazilian biomes, deforestation, and individuals caring for plants and animals;
– Waste: Its origin and destination;
– Importance of recycling;
– Major diseases linked to the environment and their prevention;
– Importance of basic sanitation and hygiene;
– Quality of life and influencing factors;
– What can we do for quality of life?
– My community.
SUPPORT FOR THE FILM “EU MAIOR”
Pousada Quinta dos Pinhais had the pride of supporting the book and subsequently the film “Eu Maior,” a movie about self-awareness and the pursuit of happiness. Directed and produced by Fernando Schultz, Paulo Schultz, Marco Schultz, André Melman, and Felipe Cordeiro.