'Crazy' tree planter greening Sao Paulo concrete jungle

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00A river of green runs through the vast urban landscape that is Sao Paulo.

00:053.2 kilometres long and 100 metres wide, it is a sanctuary for people and wildlife amid

00:11a concrete jungle.

00:13And it was all planted by one man.

00:15Over the last 21 years I've planted an average of 2,000 trees a year, that's 41,300 now.

00:23Elio da Silva is a former food industry executive.

00:27In 2003 he had a vision to transform this space, which was then a derelict area, and

00:32he began collecting plant cuttings.

00:36This was an abandoned, degraded, dirty area, an example of the city of Sao Paulo.

00:42Five years later Sao Paulo formally named his project.

00:45It became the Ticatira Linear Park, which is today made up of some 160 tree species

00:50and at least 45 types of birds.

00:54Urban forests are becoming instrumental in building sustainable cities, and the Intergovernmental

00:58Panel on Climate Change has even highlighted the value of green urban areas as key ways

01:04to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

01:07Sao Paulo is a highly polluted city of some 12 million people, who now benefit from da

01:12Silva's park, which has turned a degraded ecosystem into a thriving one, creating shade

01:17and improved air quality.

01:20And this is da Silva's message.

01:22Hug a tree, I will tell you to plant a tree, live with it, talk to it from time to time.

01:31It will benefit you.

01:33And you wouldn't need to take a sedative to sleep.

01:35The sedative is here and it's natural and organic.

01:40Da Silva is now retired and spends his days here, pruning, composting and even planting

01:45more seedlings, with the ultimate goal of reaching 50,000 trees.

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