
Faces of the Forest
Meet the people working at Instituto Terra, who are passionate about restoring nature and bringing the Zurich Forest Project to life
Who are the people bringing the Zurich Forest project to life?
Have a look at our map of Instituto Terra below – and all the different areas that people are working in! To find out more about them and their responsibilities, click through their stories below.
Lucas Barcelos
Creative Director
Romildo Barcelos
Forest Maintenance and Planting
Gabriel de Oliveira Cruz
Visitor Guide
Moisés Marcelino
Manager of the Environmental Department and General Operations
Andressa Vicentino
Seedling Producer and Tree Nursery Maintenance
Elisângela Ferreira da Silva
Environmental Analyst in the seed laboratory
José Luiz de Oliveira
Field Forest Maintenance Team Supervisor
Patrícia Fernandes Dantas Ferreira
Controllership Analyst
Marilda Moreira
Logistic Supervisor
Jeieli Capettini
Manager of Education and People
Kayla Maria Alves Fagiole
Educational Assistant
Josiel Veloso Soares
Gardener
Erika Furtado
Nursery Worker
André Favaro
Environmental Technical Consultant

Moisés Marcelino - Manager of the Environmental Department and General Operations
Moisés Marcelino is Manager of the Environmental Department and General Operations who has worked at Instituto Terra for eight months. He comes from a long line of farmers, and so has a strong family connection to the earth. With a passion for beekeeping, he always knew he would work in nature.

Andressa Vicentino - Seedling Producer and Tree Nursery Maintenance
Andressa Vicentino is a Seedling Producer and Tree Nursery Maintenance person, who has worked at Instituto Terra for seven months. In this very personal interview, she compares the whole process of watching a seed grow, caring for it, providing everything it needs, to being just like motherhood!

Elisângela Ferreira da Silva - Environmental Analyst in the seed laboratory
Elisângela Ferreira da Silva has worked at Instituto Terra for nine years. She is an Environmental Analyst in the seed laboratory and is fulfilling her dreams! She has always loved biology and dreamed of doing anything in that field for a living, so it’s a distant dream that came true.

José Luiz de Oliveira - Field Forest Maintenance Team Supervisor
José Luiz de Oliveira is a hard-working family man, who grew up surrounded by nature. Recently appointed as a Team Supervisor, he says this is the biggest challenge he has faced in the 18 years he’s worked at Instituto Terra.

Patrícia Fernandes Dantas Ferreira - Controllership Analyst
Coming from a bigger city, Patrícia Fernandes Dantas Ferreira truly appreciates the beautiful surroundings in which she is now lucky to work, motivating her to continue the legacy of sustainability at Instituto Terra.

Marilda Moreira - Logistic Supervisor
Marilda Moreira grew up on her parents’ farm and spent her formative years helping out around the farm after school. Today, as Logistics Supervisor with over 20 years’ service at Instituto Terra, she still loves her job.

Jeieli Capettini - Manager of Education and People
Jeieli Capettini, Manager of Education and People, started working at Instituto Terra during her second year of college nearly 12 years ago. At first she was attracted by the well-structured way that Instituto Terra was driving change on different environmental and educational frontiers.

Kayla Maria Alves Fagiole - Educational Assistant
Otherwise known as ‘Queen Bee’, Kayla is responsible for the Meliponary School, as well as the practical elements of the Instituto Terra’s educational course. She says that working with nature is very rewarding, and that it shows us signs when we should spread awareness about the need to care for our planet.

Josiel Veloso Soares - Gardener
Josiel Veloso Soares is a garden worker at Instituto Terra – his first permanent role since he was 14 years old. Having previously worked on all kind of plantations, he sees his role today as an opportunity to make a positive difference in the world.

Erika Furtado - Nursery Worker
Erika Furtado’s dream came true when she got a job in Instituto Terra’s tree nursery. Learning first-hand through hard work, she also increased her knowledge with training, and is now in a supervisory role. She hopes as the trees she and her team have planted grow, that they will inspire more people to love nature and the environment.

André Favaro - Environmental Technical Consultant
André Favaro is an environmental technical consultant with Instituto Terra. His job not only lets him achieve his dream of benefiting the environment. He hopes that by restoring worn out land to its natural state, he can also help local families to have a more sustainable future.

Lucas Barcelos - Creative Director
Growing up on a farm inspired Lucas Barcelos to pursue a career linked to sustainability. Lucas oversees visual communications across various platforms, including social media, photography, artwork, and design. His work plays a crucial role bringing Instituto Terra’s work to a wider audience.

Romildo Barcelos - Forest Maintenance and Planting
Romildo Barcelos ventures into the forest to prepare it for planting and eventually carries out the planting itself, placing him on the front lines of environmental restoration. He takes great pride in working to rebuild the forest.

Gabriel de Oliveira Cruz - Visitor Guide
Joining Instituto Terra was a dream come true for Gabriel de Oliveira Cruz. As a visitor guide, he takes great pleasure in leading tours and sharing his extensive knowledge. It is truly rewarding for him to see how amazed and inspired visitors are by the end of each tour.