it was founded by walter lima and is called the amazÔnia independente.s dedicated to the environmental protection of the amazonian rainforest. the teams' jerseys are made from recycled plastic bottles. the muiraquitÃ, an ancient frog symbol from the myths of the indigenous amazon inhabitants, is emblazoned on them. the club is financed by grants from the regional government and ethical sponsors. walter: i've said no to sponsors who didn't meet my ethical standards. they were shady. for example, there was a timber exporter who i didn't want as a sponsor. reporter: amazÔnia independente is a successful, professional team that has aspirations to move up to the top league in the amazon region. walter lima's environmental concerns stem from seeing firsthand how quickly brazil's nature is being destroyed. walter: i used to be a gold miner myself. then i caught malaria and stopped. since then, i've seen how much environmental destruction is increasing. reporter: tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of gold miners scour the amazonian soils for depos