The seventh edition of the Week of Land Stewardship in As Mariñas of A Coruña and the River Mandeo area will start within ten days. Again, we will repeat the formula «knowledge + commitment», including a conference day and three volunteering days.
This year edition focuses on biodiversity, dealing with issues that are little known, although they are really relevant for its preservation. During the volunteering days we will address two severe environmental problems: the invasive exotic species and the litter that ends in the rivers and the sea.
Once again, the Week is being organized jointly by Association for Rural Development Mariñas-Betanzos and Fragas do Mandeo. Funding is fully provided by the first, since we earmark 100% of the donations received for purchasing woodland plots of environmental interest, and therefore we do not have the economic means to fund this kind of events.
Please, download the program, the poster of the Week and the poster of the eco-regatta to share them among your personal circle and social networks, so that you help everyone interested to have the opportunity to participate.
To register for the activities, please contact the organization by phone 981 105 903 or send an e-mail to correo@fragasdomandeo.org with your data (complete name, ID, date of birth, mobile number and activities in which you would like to participate). Thus, you will be covered by an accident insurance policy, you will receive detailed information in advance and you will facilitate organization.
Eco-regatta on the Betanzos estuary: The litter we picked up from the estuary in the four previous editions filled seven industrial containers, exceeding a total volume of 50 m3. 
We will resume the cleaning where it was left last year, near the Pazo de Mariñán, where we will remove some lorry wheels that are still there, and afterwards we will continue removing litter on the nearest reed bed. We encourage every citizen to participate in this fun race in which the rivalry will be for taking care of the estuary. The boats with the teams of volunteers on board will start from the port of Betanzos to Mariñán, where they will strive to collect the biggest quantity and the oddest piece of garbage. At the return there will be some food and drinks at the port. The collaborating entities are Amigos dos Ríos de Betanzos, Ría del Pedrido Association, Lar de Unta, Roxín Roxal and Casa Castillo Betanzos. Also collaborating are the Bergondo and Betanzos Councils, Civil Protection and Comercial Vicente de la Fuente. Please contact us if you feel like participating, even if you don’t have a boat. Additional information can be found on the informative sheet.
Date: September 15th, from 4 to 8 p.m.
Place: Port of Betanzos.
Volunteering by the River Mandeo: The second day of environmental volunteering will be dedicated to eliminate an invasive exotic plant that is crowding out native species on the River Mandeo banks: the small-leaf spiderwort (Tradescantia fluminensis). For some years we have been eradicating this South American species on the 6 km stretch that we are safeguarding along the lower course of the River Mandeo. The aim this day will be to eliminate one of the two remaining spots, just by the Zarzo mini hydroelectric power plant, which threatens to spread down the river to areas in which it has already been eradicated. Please, contact us in advance if you would like to participate. You can find additional information on the informative sheet.
Date: September 16th, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Place: We will be leaving from the Outpatient Clinic of Betanzos.
Conference on the area’s biodiversity: As the main event of the Week we have planned a group of talks titled Views on the local biodiversity that should be preserved. After the opening by the Mayor of Sada, Mr. Benito Portela, and by the president of the Association for Rural Development Mariñas-Betanzos, Mr. José Antonio Santiso, we will make a brief overview of the achievements of Fragas do Mandeo after these eight years of experience, throughout which we have been working intensely on the recovery of our native woods and the conservation of rivers, marshland and beaches.
The first talk will be given by Dr. María Inmaculada Romero, professor and researcher of the University of Santiago, who will introduce us in the specialized flora that takes shelter on our beaches, marshland and cliffs. These are endangered plants, or with limited distribution because they cannot survive in other habitats, which are suffering a great strain due to the high human density on the shorelines. Speaking next will be Mr. Pablo Torrella, director of the Museum of Natural History in Ferrol. This naturalist specialized in beetles will focus on the dead wood present in the woods, to show us its ecological importance, far from the mistaken thinking that it is just an aggravating risk of fire. In fact, the volume of dead wood in a native forest is a measure of its biodiversity, since the life-cycle of countless organisms depends on it. Finally, Ms. Sandra Goded, researcher and founder of the conservationist organization Quercus Sonora, is going to show us the results of her recently presented doctoral thesis, in which she demonstrates qualitatively and quantitatively the biodiversity reduction in eucalyptus plantations with respect to other kinds of land use.
Date: September 22nd, from 9.30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Place: Plenary room of the Sada’s town hall (Do Porto avenue 24, previously house of the Marine Assistantship).
Simultaneous cleaning of rivers: This year is the eleventh edition of the simultaneous cleaning of Galician rivers coordinated by Proxecto Ríos. This will be the sixth collaboration (it is scheduled a week before the official date because of organizational reasons). Last year we were 936 participants belonging to 70 organizations, and we managed to remove nearly 11 tons of garbage in river stretches located in 51 different councils. This year we will visit a new water stream, as we will get to the River Lambre with the aim of removing all the litter we can find along the stretch between the mouth of Anido stream and the railway bridge. It is a 3.5 km-long route through a diverse wood which deserves to be known and preserved. The path is not hard-going, but it is advisable to wear wellingtons, clothes suitable for walking in the woods and to take gloves too. Please contact us in advance in case you would like to participate. Additional information can be found on the informative sheet.
Date: September 23rd, from 9.30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Place: We will be leaving from the Outpatient Clinic of Betanzos.
The Land Stewardship Week is an established event, unique in the area, which provides the people worried about our region’s natural heritage the opportunity to act in a direct, effective and coordinated way.
Demonstrate through actions what you really think. Get moving for nature!
