The Project aims to restore 42.2 hectares of Atlantic tropical forest. The project area is in the Inhomirim-Estrela bassin, and the community in which it is located is the last buffer zone of a Permanent Protection Area (APP) of the Atlantic Rainforest, and the urban sprawl of Rio de Janeiro. The property in which the project takes place is a mosaic of 185 hectares of land between the urban sprawl, inside the Serra da Estrela bioregion. The area borders a wildlife refuge (the Serra da Estrela State Wildlife Refuge and is within a Federal Protected Area (APA Petropolis). The project area is home to endangered species like the golden lion tamarin and the jussara açai palm tree. The 42.2 hectares selected to undergo restoration work, were chosen due to several factors: (i) their role in promoting resilience to natural events such as heavy rain (top of mountains), (ii) their capacity to regenerate, (iii) their elevated degradation level, (iv) their location allow to connect patches of preserved forest. The Atlantic Forest provides habitat to more than: 20,000 species of plants (40% endemic), 2,000 vertebrate species (30% endemic), 298 mammal species (90 of these are endemic), 1,023 bird species (around 200 of these are endemic), 475 amphibian species (286 of these are endemic) and 306 reptiles (94 of these are endemic). In parallel this biome is the most degraded in Brazil with an historical 88% reduction rate. The high biodiversity and endemism rate combined with high threat, classifies the Atlantic Forest as a biodiversity hotspot. Additionally, this biome contributes to the provision of drinking water to 60% of the country’s population, and hosts the main urban centres which altogether generate ¾ of the country’s GDP. Deforestation remains a high threat, which has been recorded to increase by 28% in the 2018--2019 period. Efforts to restore this biome are of ultimate interest for the conservation of its biodiversity and ecosystem services.