On December 18, 1861, in the heat of the southern summer, Major Manoel Gomes Archer, accompanied by slaves Constantino, Eleuterio, Leopoldo, Manuel, Maria and Mateus, began to climb the hills surrounding Rio de Janeiro.

Its mission, which has just been entrusted to it by decree of Emperor Dom Pedro II, consists of replanting trees on these slopes in order to restore the Tijuca forest as it once existed.

Indeed, for several years Rio de Janeiro has had no water, its Carioca, Maracanã and Comprido rivers no longer descend the hills that overlook it, offering it dazzling viewpoints, and the fountains no longer flow in the squares. from the city.

100,000 saplings of many species will be planted from nearby farms in Paineiras and Jacarepaguá or from the virgin forests of the Guaratiba region near the west coast of the city. They required a very complex method of reforestation, thus adding to the value of the work carried out by this small group of determined men and these trees still symbolize to this day the great diversity of endemic species in the Mata Atlântica.

Thanks to these men, Rio de Janeiro regains its water supply and the Tijuca forest becomes the first example in the world of the successful reconstitution of an ecosystem, symbolizing an early awareness of ecological issues.

Having become an integral part of the Tijuca National Park, the Tijuca Forest, an essential green mass for the climate and hydrological control of the city of Rio de Janeiro, is now protected and constitutes the largest urban forest in the world.