Today, with the closing of the art exhibition A natural look by Calros Silvar, we brought the II Week of Land Stewardship in As Mariñas of A Coruña and the River Mandeo Area to a close. After this time of intense organizational activity, were the objectives achieved? What is the balance?
The immediate aim of this second week-long conference was to make known a diverse set of stewardship and sponsorship initiatives being undertaken in different parts of Galicia. During these talks we learned about activities that are preserving forests, beaches, rivers, trails or ethnographic heritage, plus revitalizing rural communities. The satisfaction of the participants as well as the congratulations from the speakers for the organization makes us conclude that this challenge was met.
A second objective of the Week was to encourage environmental volunteering in this area by showcasing successful examples. The three scheduled volunteering days allowed that stimulus to bear fruit: 76 people helped to eliminate invasive exotic species, remove litter in natural spaces or prepare woods for their reforestation with native trees. We believe that this positive experience will encourage these and other volunteers to participate in future events.
The third objective was to further spread the word about the natural treasures of our region. The entertaining talk by Antonio Sandoval showed us his passion for birds and revealed to us some impressive aspects of their migrations, something that we can see for ourselves in our own estuary. For his part, Calros Silvar exhibited an anthology of his work as an illustrator of Galician fauna and flora, work that has been published in a number of field guides that have opened up the natural world to many people.
As a closing event, the trip to Sobrado dos Monxes was a compendium of activities. The participants watched birds, walked old oak woods by ancient tracks got to know about maintenance works in the observatory and plots of Fragas do Mandeo, did some environmental volunteering by collecting trash and appreciated the beauty of our monuments.
Therefore, all of us involved with Fragas do Mandeo are very happy with the way that the week went and we thank speakers, participants and volunteers for their participation, as well as collaborating institutions.
You can see photographs of all the activities at photographic gallery of the II Week of Land Stewardship on our website. Should you feel like participating in future volunteering events, please contact us. You can find the necessary information in section Contact
