By the train track, the passage at full speed of the bird is heard and every little over the heads of the attendees some plane; Barajas is just seven kilometers from here. And yet, this same space is the breeding place chosen by the royal owl, several species of raptors cross the sky over the waters of the Henares river in search of prey and the storks seem to monitor what happens on the ground from their nests manufactured in the high telecommunications towers.
And what happens on land and in this unique space is the launch of the restoration of the Islillas wetland, in the Regional Park of Southeast of Madrid. A space nestled between the field and San Fernando de Henares that has been a mining and improvised landfill zone «where people came to throw debris. The populations of these municipalities have lived totally on their backs to these places because they were degraded, ”says José Mª Sendarrubia López, a neighbor of the field, in addition, of Geographer and Naturalist. He has a special link with this space not only because he has traveled it from a young age, but also because he has seen him transform in recent years thanks to neighborhood movements, “without the support of the neighbors, these projects would not go ahead,” WWF conservation organization and the Sanitas insurer.
For about three years, the two organizations work together to revitalize this place and create a recreation space and Reconnection with nature For the more than 60,000 inhabitants of the southeast of Madrid. “We are in a place that is an example of disturbance, because we have the AVE road here and we see the planes, but still remains a key place for bird migration,” says Diana Colomina, responsible for the WWF forests program .
From artificial to natural
This park is called Islillas precisely for its Many and small lagoons, which originated artificially During the years of mining extraction. The old graveras were filled with groundwater causing a connected lagoon system. When closing the graveras, this area became a rest and shelter area for migratory birds, as well as a recreation space. However, over time, the area deteriorated and currently this space is degraded. «The clogging and accumulation of plant remains were drying part of the water sheet. Water also shows pollution, ”says Colomina. The NGO is intervening through areas, reducing the density of the pine forest, while carrying out enrichment plantations with native species such as ash, willow, tarays and olmos. “The objective is to recover the water sheet and achieve a landscape improvement, but also disseminate the values of the wetlands and because the good conservation of these ecosystems is important,” he said.
Undoubtedly, a good formula to get the message is through the one that became the act in the “godmother” of the wetland, the Olympic medalist Carolina Marín. «Just I have the bad luck to spend many hours in a pavilion closed for the sport I practice, but I try to walk through my near park, because I also connect with nature. For us, athletes, connecting with nature is vital, is how we connect with ourselves, we cleared of any problem, from day -to -day routine, ”said the Olympic Bádminton champion and member of the Sanitas team. The insurer is part of this project through its Healthy Cities program, an initiative that promotes lifestyles and healthy urban environments. Liseth Teresa de Abreu, Dr. de Blua de Sanitas, talked about the One Health concept, which promotes organisms such as WHO: «It is scientifically proven that Natural spaces help protect health, since they can not only help improve air quality and reduce the effect of heat islands, but also offer a space for the use and enjoyment of people, to do physical exercise; Activity, which in turn, has an impact on its cognitive, physical and emotional and mental well -being development ».
The presentation in society of this restored area is made coinciding with World Wetlands Day, which is celebrated this Sunday, February 2. “Wetlands when they are healthy work as CO2 sinks”Remember Enrique Segovia, conservation director of WWF Spain. «Fresh water ecosystems, rivers are the most deteriorated today. They tell us, for example, vertebrate populations. The measurements confirm that the populations have decreased 73% and, from them, the one living in aquatic environment has done 84%. But apart from the measurements, working with nature we see it … desiccations of national parks, the situation of Doñana, the contamination of wetlands. It’s time to start recovering wetlands, ”he said.