GENERATING AN IDEAL ENVIRONMENT FOR ENJOYING HEALTHY LEISURE TIME IN THE MIDDLE OF NATURE

 

It is essential for the whole community of La Pinada Eco-district (future residents, residents of Paterna, associations, collaborators etc…) to put an end to the abandonment that the place has experienced during recent years, and which has generated considerable deterioration of the area where our future eco-district shall be situated. So, as we announced last May, and although we predict that the first phase of residential buildings shall not be constructed until 2021, the first tasks of the Initial Landscape Adaptation Project which pursue different objectives shall include: to promote respect for nature, to develop healthy leisure activities and to materialise the commitment of La Pinada eco-district with society.

This first project shall be carried out in different stages:

1. The first stage of the project is orientated to the landscape regeneration of the environment.
2. The second stage of the project focuses on providing an environment that boosts the enjoyment of healthy leisure time for the whole community.

We provide further and more detailed information on the subject below:

 

FIRST STAGE OF THE ADAPTATION PROJECT:

Landscape Regeneration

Cleaning and Restoration

 

The purpose of the first stage of the adaptation project, which will start in the following weeks, is to create an area that will function as a nature park, improving the landscape and to lay foundations in order to encourage the development of biodiversity in the area.

We will start with a superficial clean of the different waste that has been accumulating in the area over the years. This shall be carried out in a selective way, which will let us recycle all those objects susceptible of being recycled.

Once we have cleaned the area where we are going to work, we shall proceed to work on one of the masses of woods in the environment. The masses of woods are plantations of Pinus halepensis (Aleppo pine), and due to the high density of the plantation and the low quality of the soil, we find many individual shorter trees, complex formations and a number of dead specimens. To recuperate these plantations, we will carry out two operations: pruning and thinning.

 

Pruning

This operation consists of cutting a foot off certain branches so that it is easier for the rest of the branches to receive more light, leaving a 2-metre underpass free, and also eliminating any visible pockets of processionary moths.

The total area of the pruning areas will be 1,380 m2, and the number of pruned trees shall be a total of 80.

Thinning

This action consists of cutting and extracting the excess from the main mass in order to improve its state, either by its constituent parts or by the conditions in which these are developed. The operation has to be carried out on areas that are the worst formed or ill, as well as in groups or excessively dense copses.

The percentage of pruned pine trees shall be 23% (77 trees from a total of 327).

Once the pinewood has recuperated, we will carry out ground recovery tasks by means of different techniques such as mulching, in a way that the remaining individual trees improve their quality of life and acquire a greater magnitude. In addition, thinning will also let new bushy vegetation enter into these masses and will cohabit the area with the woods.

Finally, after carrying out the cleaning, pruning and thinning, we shall proceed to the plantation of new woods.

 

Plantation

During the month of December, we shall be preparing to plant native vegetation of small calibre shrubs and species that are suitable for this season.

In addition, we will plant 3 new single trees for each dead or living one. As the thinning removes a total of 77 trees, 231 new ones shall be planted during the month of March. The newly planted specimens shall be 2 metres tall, and these species selected along with the number of specimens to plant are listed below:

 

Tipuana tipu (“white tipa”): 14 specimens

Melia azedarach (“chinaberry”): 23 specimens

Morus alba ‘fruitless’ (“white mulberry”): 16 specimens

Celtis australis (“hackberry or lote tree”): 18 specimens

Granada acer (“Granada Maple”): 32 specimens

Ulmus minor var ‘resistant’ (“elm”): 16 specimens

Fraxinus angustifolia (“narrow-leafed ash”): 18 specimens

Fraxinus ornus (“flowering ash”): 18 specimens

Populus alba (“white poplar”): 18 specimens

Populus nigra (“black poplar”): 28 specimens

Tamarix gallica (“tamarisk”): 13 specimens

Betula alba (“birch”): 17 specimens

 

We chose theses species for having high a viability of transplantation, as they shall be planted in a nursery, which will guarantee certain flexibility when it comes to planting them in the future.

Materialising Our Commitment with Society

In line with our values and social commitment, and in order to select the companies to hire, an evaluation of the impact that these companies generate was carried out on a social and environmental level.

These jobs shall eventually be carried out by Paimed which is part of the Projar Group, and specialists in sustainable eco solutions, that is to say: advanced landscape, bioengineering and environment solutions in line with the values of La Pinada Eco-district and La Coma Cooperative (La Cooperativa de La Coma), complying with our commitment to generate opportunities for the closest environment and to develop the zero-kilometre economy.

In addition, Paimed Projar has committed to hire staff from groups with difficult access to the job market or in risk of social exclusion through the professional integration company, YMKA, which is working in collaboration with La Pinada Eco-district.

SECOND STAGE OF THE ADAPTATION PROJECT:

Landscape Regeneration

Installations for Healthy Leisure Time

 

The second stage of the landscape adaptation project shall mainly consist of providing the area with a series of installations that facilitate the carrying out of activities in line with the values of La Pinada Eco-district, which also serve as a meeting point for the team at La Pinada, so people interested in the project can resolve any query, doubt or concern. These shall be open and integrating installations where anyone can enjoy them:

1. Firstly, we will install a nature classroom where we will carry out workshops to increase awareness with the purpose of creating an open area so that the associations, citizen platforms, secondary schools, schools etc… can make use of the classroom to create the community of La Pinada.
2. Secondly, we will install a children’s playground created in the form of a circuit with natural elements (tree trunks, sand, stones and vegetation), recycled materials (tyres and ropes), and we will make trails and playing areas so that children and adults can keep themselves more active.
3. Thirdly, at just a few metres away, there will be a picnic area in a secluded area around the vegetation where tables and wooden benches shall be installed with the purpose of visitors being able to eat during their stay in the place. All of this shall be installed in an integral way without changing the environment, nor carrying out large movements of earth.

A network of litter bins shall also be incorporated with the purpose of keeping areas clean, in addition to notice boards for cultural and educational purposes providing information on the vegetation in the area, and the different paths throughout the environment.

Lastly, an access control barrier shall be added to the area before La Mola.

A mound of earth that was put there to stop vehicle access to this path presently obstructs the access to such path. A small fire broke out recently to the north of the path, and the mound stopped the fire brigade from passing through. To avoid the same scenario from occurring in the future, there is a plan to remove the mound of earth and to install an access control barrier in its place.

This second stage of the landscape adaptation project shall call for public tenders with the purpose of any interested supplier to send us their offer through our online channels. We can then evaluate the different candidates by measuring the economical perspective in addition to the social and environmental impact of the different candidatures. We will have more information for you soon.