We are just one day away from doing very important conservation work in the Verdicio dunes.
On 21 May, all of Europe is celebrating European Natura 2000 Day. We are meeting at this unique space within the Council of Gozón because it belongs to the Cabo Busto-Luanco Special Area of Conservation, one of the many protected areas that make up the Natura 2000 Network in Asturias.
10:00 OPTIONAL DEPARTURE POINT – JARDÍN BOTÁNICO ATLÁNTICO (ATLANTIC BOTANICAL GARDEN)
For those of you that are willing to share their car and give others a ride, you should arrive at the Jardín Botánico Atlántico car park in Gijón around 10:00 am. Organisers be there around that time. Meet near the entrance. That way, the least number of cars possible will drive us to the beach. If you do not have your own car and do not have a ride there, we can take you in a university car. Please, do not hesitate to let us know if you do not have a car.
At 10:30 am we will go to Tenrero beach in Verdicio.
11:00 VERDICIO – START OF VOLUNTEER DAY
The day will start on Tenrero beach. We will meet under a Life+ARCOS banner (like a surf banner). There should not be many banners of this type on the beach that day. Everyone will meet at this banner.
IMPORTANT: Verdicio beach has two access points. We will set up our base of operations near the beach kiosk, showers, etc. This is on the right side of the beach. To get here, from AS-328 and where the «Casa Oliva» Restaurant is located, turn towards the Verdicio residential area to get to the eastern side of the beach (right where Google Maps marks the location of the beach). Here is a screenshot
Upon arrival you will have to sign a form in order to be covered by our insurance policy. We will provide you with all the material and instructions you need to carry out the activity.
We have made some Life+ARCOS project t-shirts for you to take as a souvenir. Make sure you get one before you leave.
11:30 AM, TIME TO WORK! WHAT WILL WE BE DOING?
In addition to having a good time, we will spend 20-30 minutes telling you a bit about the Life+ARCOS project, the Natura 2000 Network and the dune systems. Above all, we will teach you about the species that are invading Cantabrian dunes, which we need to eradicate (so native dune species do not encounter competitors and can develop normally).
We will divide everyone up into small groups (we do not want 60 people walking through the same area at the same time) and we will tell you which species must be eradicated. We will also take this opportunity to collect plastic and rubbish that is not only unsightly but is also a threat to bird life and other animals that use the dune as a place to breed and live.
Clean beaches and dunes are, without a doubt, much nicer than a beach full of rubbish.
3:00 pm FAREWELL AND CLOSING
Since we will have a large number of participants, we may have finished «sweeping» Tenrero beach and eliminating the vast majority of species that we can remove manually. If that were the case, we could go to the neighbouring Carriciega beach to do similar work and enjoy the views.
We will get rid of plant remains and rubbish in the containers COGERSA will provide for the occasion on Verdicio beach.
After the activities, some of us will stay for lunch at a restaurant near the beach. There will also be time for photos.
RECOMMENDATIONS
We would like to remind you to bring sunscreen and a hat (if it is a sunny day).
Bring your mobile phone and participate in the Life+ARCOS photo contest. Add your photos to Twitter with the hashtag #Nat200DayArcos.
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It is our duty and pleasure to thank everyone for supporting and contributing to the conservation of these fascinating and fragile dune ecosystems.
Although many different types of people have signed up to volunteer, we would like to especially thank the Friends of the Botanical Garden Association for supporting all our activities by allowing us to meet at the Atlantic Botanical Garden and, especially, for the support they provide with their scientific work. A clear example of #civicscience. To all of you and our volunteers, thank you so much for your participation!