Maria Isabel Weyermanns is an avid environmentalist, and passionate about protecting Mata Atlântica forest land in Brazil. She is a professional photographer now focusing on nature photography. She lives in southern Brazil in Santa Catarina State.
The Reserva Águas do Brilhante was born from a great desire to work for the preservation of natural habitat in southern Brazil. Birds are a primary focus of the reserve. One of my ideas is to encourage more landowners to protect their natural land by establishing a private nature reserve. The Reserva Águas do Brilhante is located in the locality of Brilhante ll interior of port city Itajaí, in the state of Santa Catarina. On land of our family, the 70 hectares have been transformed into a RPPN (Reserva Particular de Patrimônio Natural) that is a form of UC (Unidade de conservação/Conservation Unit). RPPN is a Conservation Unit quite restricted, protecting the area from undesirable interference. This reserved land may not have any other activity that is not linked to conservation.