Background
Orienteering is a sport practised in natural environments, where athletes navigate using a map and compass to complete courses marked by control points. Its close relationship with green spaces gives the sport an inherent connection to environmental conservation and the promotion of responsible attitudes towards nature.
On 25 January, the São Paulo Orienteering Federation (FOSP) and local organisation Autidó hosted a competition at Jaguacy Farm, an avocado-producing farm recognised for its sustainable practices. The event brought together 163 athletes and transformed the venue into a living learning space, drawing on the farm’s real environmental initiatives to raise awareness among participants.
The project was aligned with the Sports for Nature (S4N) movement and two of its core principles: educating and inspiring positive action for nature within and beyond sport and using communications and education as deliberate tools to engage athletes and communities in meaningful environmental action.
Challenge
Outdoor sports events offer a powerful opportunity to bring people closer to nature, yet they also carry a responsibility to avoid negative impacts on sensitive areas, waterways, and native vegetation. In Brazil, where the Atlantic Forest has lost over 85% of its original cover, events held in natural or agricultural landscapes bear particular weight, but also particular potential. A further challenge is that environmental messaging at sporting events often remains generic, disconnected from concrete, real-life examples that might genuinely resonate with participants. FOSP and Autidó saw an opportunity to change this. The competition at Jaguacy Farm was designed to demonstrate, in practice, that agricultural production, environmental conservation, and sporting activity can coexist, offering a model that is both inspiring and replicable for other sports organisations.
Approach
FOSP and Autidó structured the competition to weave environmental education directly into the sporting experience, building on conservation initiatives already under way at Jaguacy Farm.
One of the main challenges was that the areas where these practices were in place were spread across the farm, some distance from the event arena. To address this, the orienteering courses were deliberately designed so that control points guided athletes through active conservation zones, creating natural touchpoints for learning throughout the race.
Along the courses, participants discovered initiatives including the regeneration of degraded areas, riparian forest conservation, water capture for irrigation, protection of the Barro Preto stream, composting, and sustainable land management. Informational materials were placed at key points, allowing athletes to engage with the content at their own pace.
At the awards ceremony, these initiatives were presented to the wider audience, reinforcing the sustainability message beyond the sporting results. The partnership with Jaguacy Farm was central to transforming the event into a practical demonstration of sport as a tool for environmental awareness.
Results and impact
The event reached 163 athletes directly, strengthening the connection between sport and nature through hands-on exposure to real conservation practices. Through social media coverage and press engagement by FOSP, Autidó, and Jaguacy Farm, the initiative extended its reach well beyond the track.
Notably, 57% of participants had never taken part in an orienteering event before, making the results all the more striking. According to the post-event satisfaction survey, 98% of participants said the event exceeded their expectations, a strong indication that combining sport with environmental education can create a deeply engaging experience for newcomers and seasoned athletes alike.
The event generated a range of meaningful impacts:
- Athletes left with a greater awareness of conservation and sustainability, grounded in real, visible examples rather than abstract messaging
- Orienteering’s identity as a sport aligned with environmental protection was further strengthened
- Participants and stakeholders saw first-hand that a working farm can actively preserve natural resources and local ecosystems
- The model offered practical inspiration for other sports organisations to seek out venues and partners genuinely committed to conservation
Key Learning
The Jaguacy Farm event offered several lessons with the potential to inspire sports organisations beyond Brazil.
First, nature can be part of an event’s content, not only its setting. Integrating conservation touchpoints directly into the course design transformed a standard competition into a meaningful educational experience, showing that the sporting environment itself can be a teaching tool.
Second, partnerships with venues genuinely committed to sustainability make the message far more concrete and compelling. A working farm with real conservation practices already under way proved considerably more powerful than a generic outdoor venue would have done.
Third, communicating these initiatives to the public, particularly at the event’s conclusion, helps reinforce purpose and broaden educational impact. At Jaguacy Farm, the awards ceremony became as much a conservation moment as a sporting one.
Looking ahead, FOSP has identified one area for improvement: based on participant feedback, the organisation intends to use biodegradable or more sustainable materials for medals and other event materials, bringing the operational aspects of future events into closer alignment with their environmental values.
For more information Visit:
FOSP: https://fosp.com.br
Autidó: https://www.instagram.com/autido_orientacao
Jaguacy Farm: https://jaguacy.com.br
