Restoring the Serra Geral Forest: water, wildlife, and community
Instituto Felinos do Aguaí is an organization founded in 2005 and based in Siderópolis, Santa Catarina, dedicated to the conservation of wild felids that are among the world's most threatened species, primarily affected by habitat loss. The institute's mission is to conduct research to educate, with all information obtained through research channeled into its Environmental Education Program. The organization's activities encompass scientific research, environmental education, and community engagement to promote species conservation, operating across municipalities in the southern region including Treviso, Siderópolis, Nova Veneza, Morro Grande, Bom Jardim da Serra, and Criciúma. In 2023, the institute opened a forest plant nursery at the Aguaí Biological Reserve to produce native seedlings for restoration projects in the surrounding area.
Project story
Instituto Felinos do Aguaí: Protecting a Forest, Protecting a Future
Deep in southern Brazil's Atlantic Forest lies a landscape of extraordinary importance—home to over 300 natural springs that quench the thirst of 300,000 people across seven municipalities. Yet this biodiversity hotspot faces mounting threats from habitat loss, invasive species, and climate change.
Instituto Felinos do Aguaí rises to meet this challenge. What began as wildlife monitoring has blossomed into a regenerative conservation movement, weaving together habitat restoration, wildlife rehabilitation, scientific research, and community engagement.
Our team works across 9,172 hectares of protected and restored land, planting native species, recovering degraded watersheds, and rehabilitating injured wildlife. We use advanced monitoring techniques—camera traps and field research—to track ecosystem health and species recovery.
The real magic happens through people. In 2025 alone, we engaged 4,468 community members through 43 schools and mobilized over 200 volunteers. We're building genuine coexistence between local residents and wildlife while rebuilding ecosystem resilience.
Your support directly funds our biodiversity monitoring, ecological restoration, water protection, and community-led conservation work. Together, we can ensure this forest—and the communities it sustains—thrives for generations to come.
Project updates
Team
Restoring the Serra Geral Forest: water, wildlife, and community
Instituto Felinos do Aguaí is an organization founded in 2005 and based in Siderópolis, Santa Catarina, dedicated to the conservation of wild felids that are among the world's most threatened species, primarily affected by habitat loss. The institute's mission is to conduct research to educate, with all information obtained through research channeled into its Environmental Education Program. The organization's activities encompass scientific research, environmental education, and community engagement to promote species conservation, operating across municipalities in the southern region including Treviso, Siderópolis, Nova Veneza, Morro Grande, Bom Jardim da Serra, and Criciúma. In 2023, the institute opened a forest plant nursery at the Aguaí Biological Reserve to produce native seedlings for restoration projects in the surrounding area.
Project story
Instituto Felinos do Aguaí: Protecting a Forest, Protecting a Future
Deep in southern Brazil's Atlantic Forest lies a landscape of extraordinary importance—home to over 300 natural springs that quench the thirst of 300,000 people across seven municipalities. Yet this biodiversity hotspot faces mounting threats from habitat loss, invasive species, and climate change.
Instituto Felinos do Aguaí rises to meet this challenge. What began as wildlife monitoring has blossomed into a regenerative conservation movement, weaving together habitat restoration, wildlife rehabilitation, scientific research, and community engagement.
Our team works across 9,172 hectares of protected and restored land, planting native species, recovering degraded watersheds, and rehabilitating injured wildlife. We use advanced monitoring techniques—camera traps and field research—to track ecosystem health and species recovery.
The real magic happens through people. In 2025 alone, we engaged 4,468 community members through 43 schools and mobilized over 200 volunteers. We're building genuine coexistence between local residents and wildlife while rebuilding ecosystem resilience.
Your support directly funds our biodiversity monitoring, ecological restoration, water protection, and community-led conservation work. Together, we can ensure this forest—and the communities it sustains—thrives for generations to come.
Project updates
Team
Location
Brazil
Round 3
Jul 1-21, 2026
Supporting community-led nature projects around the world.
Matching funds provided by
