In 2003, a retired man planted trees on forgotten land alone; 20 years later, it had become one of Sao Paulo's largest urban forests

Between crowded roads and layers of concrete in São Paulo, a long strip of greenery now breaks up the city’s urban landscape. The area was not always a place where people came to walk beneath trees or watch birds. For years, it was an abandoned stretch of land known for neglect and insecurity. According to Forbes India, in 2003, Helio da Silva began planting there with little more than his own determination and personal savings. Many people thought the retired food industry executive had taken on an impossible task. Two decades later, thousands of trees stand where there was once little life, creating one of the city’s most unusual examples of grassroots urban restoration.How one retired man turned an abandoned space into a growing forest Da Silva’s connection with the land began during a walk with his wife, Leda, through an overlooked part of São Paulo. The area between two busy avenues had become a place few residents wanted to visit. Instead of seeing only its problems, he saw the possibility of creating something different.At the time, he had no official support, no large team and no organised funding behind him. He began by purchasing and collecting plant cuttings, then puttin...