The São Francisco Private Area of Environmental Preservation, also known as São Francisco Reserve, has a long history of creation and is located in a portion of the Serra Geral in the municipality of Nova Veneza.
Before the arrival of the first settlers, the slopes of the Serra Geral were covered by virgin forest. However, after colonisation the native vegetation was heavily exploited and the landscape rapidly modified, causing great impact on the natural ecosystems. One of the areas impacted by logging was the mountain slopes of the Rio Cedro Alto region, in the municipality of Nova Veneza, in Santa Catarina.
In 2002, one of these mountains had the chance to be observed by the couple Sidney José Damiani and Marli Bortolin, who saw in this piece of land the cradle of countless animal and plant species. With the purpose of preserving that piece of Atlantic Forest, they initially acquired 17 hectares of forest and, little by little, they have been obtaining new areas.
Today there are more than 1,500 hectares that make up an area now called the São Francisco Reserve. To speed up the process of natural regeneration, they adopted management actions by recomposing the forest through the planting of native seedlings. Today, the area is already in an advanced stage of regeneration - a process that generally begins after 15 years and can take more than 60 years to reach a stage similar to that of primary forest.
In this trajectory of conservation, the couple met the members of the Instituto Felinos do Aguaí, who have been carrying out research and environmental education work in the Aguaí State Biological Reserve for 15 years, as well as in its surroundings, a protected area neighboring the São Francisco Reserve.
From 2015, motivated by the joint goal of nature conservation, the two entities joined forces, significantly expanding environmental preservation actions in the southern region of Santa Catarina. In addition to protecting water springs and serving as a stronghold for many species of Brazilian fauna and flora, the São Francisco Reserve now connected to the Aguaí State Biological Reserve - one of the ten state conservation units of the full protection group of Santa Catarina - stands out as an important private area dedicated to the preservation of natural resources, contributing to the increase of landscape connectivity and representing a way to expand the areas of wildlife conservation.

The São Francisco Reserve has a place for environmental education programmes. The environmental education area consists of an amphitheatre integrated with nature and an interpretative trail. The trail's route is rewarded by a visit to a waterfall. The beauty of the waterfall makes any walk worthwhile, besides awakening in the students the proximity with nature and the importance of preserving it.
Schedule your school group and come to visit, the visit is free!
The visit must be scheduled through the e-mail contato@reservasaofrancisco.com.br