The Parque Estadual Serra do Mar – Núcleo Bertioga has been experiencing exponential growth in the number of visitors. In 2024, around 12,000 people enjoyed the park’s natural beauty. In just the first half of this year, 9,700 visitors have already been recorded, solidifying the park’s popularity on the São Paulo coast.
This increase in visitors brings an important reflection for local professionals: how to maintain preserved areas while access grows? With this in mind, on July 30 and 31, the park’s monitors received training in Leave No Trace – Level 1 Instructor. The initiative is part of a partnership between Gear Tips and the Fundação Florestal de São Paulo to train self-employed professionals and managers of protected areas in the state.
Juliana Castro, environmental specialist and manager of the Núcleo Bertioga at Parque Estadual Serra do Mar, explains that the qualification of monitors is essential to ensure the socio-environmental sustainability of the unit and to promote a safer and higher-quality visit. “This training process is highly relevant for our group of environmental monitors and for consolidating public use, which is the primary objective of the parks.”
Currently, the park has 150 accredited self-employed monitors and plans to implement a backcountry camping area connected to the trails, making the minimum impact principles even more relevant. “The tools that Leave No Trace provides, especially regarding waste management and proper dishwashing, are essential to making camping feasible. We realized that there are more efficient practices than those we previously considered ideal.”
According to Douglas Leal, Gear Tips instructor, the park management’s decision to work in partnership with the participants made all the difference during the two-day training. “Recognizing the importance of having trained monitors as agents of change is the way forward for adventure and nature tourism to be well-prepared in terms of minimum impact.”
Giovanna da Silva, an active monitor at the park, participated in the training and already has plans to apply the 7 principles. “The training came as a gift and a seed that sparked our desire to learn. As ecotourism professionals, we have adopted a new perspective on the public use of the park. I hope all accredited monitors in Bertioga have access to this training.”
When she is not guiding visitors, Giovanna uses the trails for leisure and is a bikepacking enthusiast. “I already have a million ideas to apply the Leave No Trace experiences to cycle tourism here in the territory! The training has greatly enriched me both professionally and personally.”
Giovanna da Silva during the Leave No Trace course
The result, according to Juliana, could not be more positive: “the evaluation among them was excellent. The monitors noticed a great alignment between the principles and the activities they carry out today.”
Douglas adds that a key factor in the success of the course was the students’ availability and commitment. “During the process, they emphasized the importance of the course’s methodology, based on collective construction, which provided safety and motivation. The most beautiful part, for me, was seeing them understand how to enhance this knowledge in their role as educators, guiding people with minimum impact and ethics.”
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