Maintenance | Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu

Those who remember our first canopy hide with its wooden ladder, erected in 2005, will be delighted to know that the ladder has been replaced with a metal spiral staircase enabling a much easier ascent.

Looking at the earlier image below, one sees how the view around the hide has changed. In 2005 the hide was placed in cattle pasture. We then planted trees to link this area with our surrounding forest and now the tower situated with and below some of the nearby tree canopies. Our linked forests now tower over the wetlands.

Giving and excellent overview of the wetlands, this low altitude tower permits birders the chance to peer into the world of crakes and herons.

There are two slightly higher altitude towers for forest species and a great bird hide at the water level edge of the wetlands for you to enjoy at REGUA.

Many who have visited REGUA will have used the reserve transport to get to some of the more distant trail heads. Others will have arrived by bus from Cachoeiras de Macacu, but all will have travelled over the small bridges that span the Guapiaçu River at some point.

After 30 years of shouldering the heavy traffic from buses, farm equipment and the reserve vehicles transporting the saplings to planting areas; the bridge connecting REGUA’s headquarters to the Waterfall trail finally reached the end of its life. The old wooden boards had taken many summer floods and it was time for them to be replaced by an iron structure with a concrete road surface, and REGUA staff, under local builder Ruy’s expert direction, worked hard to have it completed by the end of January.

Whilst construction was carried out the river could only be crossed using a 4×4. The rebuilding work came not a moment too soon, as with the summer rains came a deluge of water that would probably have washed the original bridge away. Friend of REGUA, Katerina, sent this photograph after one night’s rain.

The bridge has been designed to have as little resistance to the power of the floodwater as possible, allowing the water to run right over it, minimising any damage. Hopefully the new bridge will last just as long as the original.

Building the new bridge