The first Gaia Education: Design for Sustainability in Rio de Janeiro hosted by Terra Una in partnership with the Botanical Garden and the School of Tropical Botany, was successfully held between August and December 2009.  

The programme took place in a magnificent historic venue Solar da Imperatriz - Empress Manor- within the 40-hectare Botanic Garden at the foot of the Corcovado Mountain, surrounded by Atlantic Forest.  Over the five months 70 students had 216 hours of activities with classes happening in specific evenings and week-ends. 27 educators mainly from Brazil alternated theory sessions with hands-on practical design sessions while covering the 4 dimensions of sustainability.  

Students had the Botanic Garden with more than 6,000 different species of tropical and subtropical plants and trees as class room.	Terra Una- all Gaia Education graduates, and School of Tropical Botany organising team planning expansion for 2010.

Due to growing interest and demand in Rio de Janeiro, Terra Una organising team is planning to host two programmes in 2010 - one at the Botanic Gardens and a second residential one at Terra Una Ecovillage in Minas Gerais.