Forest Keepers invites 16 teenagers to two days in an Alentejo forest
If you’re 16 to 19 and curious about the natural world, there’s a free weekend in the montado near Montemor-o-Novo waiting in November. Applications close on Friday, and the two days will be filmed for a short documentary.
Forest Keepers is looking for 16 young people to spend 14 and 15 November outdoors near Montemor-o-Novo. It’s free, meals and accommodation are taken care of, and you don’t need any experience, because, as the organisers put it, you only have to bring your curiosity. Applications close on Friday 16 October. The weekend is for anyone aged 16 to 19 who speaks good Portuguese.
The group moves between Herdade do Freixo do Meio, about 600 hectares of montado farmed on organic and agroecological lines since 1997, and Calcanhar do Mundo, a bird sanctuary in São Cristóvão looked after by a local family.
Evgenia Emets, one of four adults who go along, is an artist and the founder of Eternal Forest, which hopes to grow 1,000 forest sanctuaries, each cared for by its community for 1,000 years. Bernardo Nogueira is a biologist, Mango is a musician, and Ana Salcedo is an activist who co-founded the Lisbon NGO Zero Waste Lab.
It isn’t a lesson or a guided tour. In the words of the call, you’ll walk, explore, share food, tell stories and get your hands dirty, sometimes with the whole group and sometimes on your own.
Cameras will be around too, because Bloom, a non-profit that creates experiences for young people, is turning the weekend into a short documentary directed by Marco Piano. There’s no script and nobody has to perform.
Questions can go to Evgenia Emets at info@eternalforest.earth, and the application form is on the Forest Keepers page.
