In the middle of a lonely paradise, where the water stretches out endlessly like a millpond, children stream excitedly out of a makeshift classroom. Today they're going to learn about both Science and Art, by drawing the turtles that populate the river Jauperi. "It's a very easy way for them to give value to their world", says Paul, as his pupils carefully release endangered turtles into a safe part of the magnificent Jauperi river.

At 7:30 in the morning the children are brought to school by boat. One adventurous young boy jumps from the helm to the shore, eager to greet his teachers. British couple Paul and Bianca, "came here as tourists and never left". They started the school Vivamazonia to tackle the high rate of illiteracy in an area completely neglected by the government. But they soon became key in improving the locals' knowledge of the environment:"Before I met Paul and Bianca I used to destroy everything. I killed the turtles, I cut the trees down".

"We started with a piece of paper", laughs Bianca, as the class settle down for Literature. The children can't see themselves in the cityscapes of the textbooks sent by the local authorities. So they make all of their books from scratch - brightly coloured tales of the forest and the animals who live there. In Mathematics, they find fractions in rivers, and the fishing ban soon to expire on their beloved river, becomes a subject for History: "If there are so many fish," asks one young girl, "then where are our jarachi, our tucanare, our aruana?"

They learn not just facts and figures, but a responsibility for their natural heritage. They understand the impact the end of the fishing ban will have on their families, already struggling to feed themselves. And they open their parents' eyes: "I am poor, I have nothing to leave my children. But I have to leave them this". The words of a father disappear into the air as the children chase each other around this gigantic green playground - it's time for physical ed. A timeless and heartwarming portrait of the people that have most to lose from our ailing world.

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