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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.