From the 23rd to the 26th of March SPEA participated in the I Environment Week of Santa Cruz and celebrated the Earth Hour with several free activities open to the public, which culminated with a 60 minutes worldwide blackout.
Gardens with more life
On the 23rd of March we promoted the volunteer activity in the gardens of Ponta da Oliveira. In this event, native plants of the island, adapted to the maritime coast, were presented, where there was an awareness-raising action on the importance of these plants for the preservation of biodiversity and also maintenance of the garden and new plantings, with the support of 19 participants, including volunteers, trainees and employees of the Santa Cruz town hall.
Night with life in Garajau – in search of nocturnal biodiversity
On the 24th March took place a peddy paper in Ponta do Garajau. The purpose of this event was to demonstrate the biodiversity that exists in the area of Cristo Rei in Garajau, during a night out at the site.
Stations were set up to observe species of bats, seabirds and insects, in addition to a stand with informative materials.
At the bat observation station, participants had the opportunity to see a preserved specimen of the Madeira pipistrelle (Pipistrellus maderensis) and use a device to listen to the echolocation of these animals in order to detect the species that visit the Garajau area. At the insect observation post, the entomological collections with the most varied species of diurnal and nocturnal butterflies were observed in order to compare their characteristics and also other groups of insects that can be found on the island. Here, a light trap was placed so that the participants could observe the easy attraction that insects have in relation to artificial light. The seabird observation and listening station was boosted with the use of a sound amplifier, and we were presented with several vocalizations of Cory’s Shearwater (Calonectris borealis). The remaining species of seabirds were also introduced.
After the participants visited the 3 different stations on nocturnal biodiversity, they returned to the starting point, to learn about the work of SPEA and to obtain the most recent promotional materials of the LIFE Natura@night project.
Earth Hour
From 25th to 26th March, SPEA was present at Casa da Cultura de Santa Cruz, where several businesses joined in the context of promoting local and sustainable products. SPEA participated with a station promoting its activities, as well as providing products such as bird field guides and information leaflets on identification or related to the projects with which it works, such as the LIFE Natura@night project. This event provided visitors to the garden with the opportunity to watch a debate on environmental issues and the management of natural resources and also to observe seabirds with the SPEA telescope. The event ended with musical entertainment and the projection of a video aimed at raising awareness about environmental problems, during the 60-minute worldwide blackout.
