"One Forest, one future" in the Museu do Tabaco da Maia

The Museu do Tabaco na Maia, in São Miguel, receives until April 20th the exhibition "One Forest, one future".

With this exhibition you will get to know better the plants that belong to the azorian Laurel Forest and learn a little bit more about the Azorian Bullfinch.

Besides, it is also possible to understand the preservation work that has been done by the Sustainable Laurel Life Project on the Laurel Forest and the Peatbogs in Planalto dos Graminhais, in SPA Pico da Vara/Ribeira do Guilherme and the SIC Serra da Tronqueira/Planalto dos Graminhais.

Visiting hours:

-       9.30am to 12.30pm

-       2pm to 4.30pm

Come learn about the Laurel Forest plants!

Good year of Laurel germination in the project’s greenhouse

After reaching the 35 000 endemic and native plantas in the greenhouse, an important moment, here comes more good news.

Since we built the Sustainable Laurel Life Project greenhouse that we’ve been dwelling with the difficulty on the germination of some plants. The most difficult results have been the Laurel (until now, we only had two germinations of this specie).

Therefore, this year we have good news: Laurel beds planted are giving excellent results, estimating 5 000 Laurel germinations that will be used on the recovery actions of the Laurel Forest in Serra da Tronqueira.

We hope that the good news continues! See you soon.

Implants of sphagnum tufts on the drain ditches in Planalto dos Graminhais

After some study and preparation, it began during the first week of April the tests to implant sphagnum tufts on the drain ditches in Planalto dos Graminhais.

After the drain ditches construction and some adjustments on the water outflow, the team project responsible for the recovery of the peatbogs of Planalto dos Graminhais started testing some techniques to accelerate the peatbogs recovery in some of the most degraded areas. One way of foing this is by using the sphagnum tufts collected in the near areas and setting them in the intended place.

The purpose is that these implants help recover the peatbogs in the degraded areas, like in the old path.

 We hope to have more good news for you soon!

2011/2012 Progress Report available

Anually, the Sustainable Laurel Life Project team dedicates themselves to write the reports concerning the project interventions of which they’re responsible.

With these reports, that are sent to the Life+ Comission, we intend to show the work that has been developed and the results obtained on what concerns to each project’s action that are part of the Project!

From the work done in Planalto dos Graminhais, the number of endemic plants produced in the project’s greenhouse, the progress made on the preservation of the Laurel Forest in the different areas (Malhada and Labaçal), and even the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism application (CETS), that was submitted in January 2012; besides that, the project’s publicizing, the regional, national and international media coverage.

With this report you can get to know better the work done anually to preserve and recover the priority habitats in SPA Pico da Vara/Ribeira do Guilherme.

You may consult the 2011/2012 Progress Report HERE

SPEA receives 3 new trainees in São Miguel

Since Monday that SPEA can rely on three new trainees. Pep Gallen, Silvia Catalá and Pablo Vivanco will be cooperating with Sustainable Laurel Life Project’s and Priolo’s Environmental Center in the coming months.

Pep Gallen

Pep studied Forest Engineering and came to S.Miguel throught the Eurodyssée program and will be staying until August. Pablo is on a professional course in Forest Services and his coming to SPEA is due to a professional internship that will last until June. Both will be part of the Sustainable Laurel Life Project’s mainly as support in peatland conservation actions and in the greenhouse of endemic plants.

Pablo Vivanco

Silvia Catalá studied Byologie, has been in Azores participating of a study developed by University of the Azores and nowadays collaborates with SPEA has a Eurodyssée trainee in Priolo’s Environmental Center, until August.

Silvia Catalá

SPEA welcomes these new trainees and hopes that their stay in São Miguel and in SPEA contributes to an extremely positive experience to their formation.

Nordeste and Povoação visited by EUROPARC representative

Within the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism application, Nordeste and Povoação where visited, on the 12th and 13th of March, the EUROPARC verifier that accompanies the process, Fernando Correia. With the project’s partners representatives, he visited the “Lands of Priolo”, gathering with the representatives of the different public entities and many business man that have been involved in the application.

The verification started with a meeting in Furnas Monitoring and Investigation Center (CMIF) with the local technician team, in which it was reviewed application process delivered to EUROPARC in January 2012 and some of the doubts were clarified. It was also possible to reunite with the responsible persons of the different partners entities in the process.


After lunch, they visited Faial da Terra (Sanguinho’s village) and Água Retorta, where it was given some information about the actions that are to take place in these villages and are included in the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism Action Plan.


On the second day, the visit began with a meeting in Nordeste’s Town Hall and continued with a tour to this Municipality, with the opportunity to know better the handicraft of the “Folha de Milho” in Salga and Ribeira dos Caldeirões park in Achada. The lunch in Nordeste had the presence of different business man from Nordeste, also involved in the process. After this, they visited the nursery of the Nordeste Forest Service Division. The visit ended with a meeting with the President of Povoação Town Hall and a final gathering with the local technician team to do a final balance of this visit.


The Verifier will elaborate a report to deliver to the EUROPARC panel responsible for the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism accolade attribution. The panel decision will be known in September.


The European Charter for Sustainable Tourism to the “Lands of Priolo” is an application engadged by the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and the Sea, to the São Miguel Natural Island Park in the municipalities of Nordeste and povoação, within the Sustainable Laurel Life Project’s, in a partnership between SPEA, DRRF, DRT, Nordeste Municipality and ASDERPR.

Find out more

Field Trip to the Sustainable Laurel Life Project with good adherence

On the 10th of March, SPEA organized a field trip to the Sustainable Laurel Life Project’s actions; with the purpose of divulge to all the participants the conservation work carried out by this project.

This activity had 19 participants which had the opportunity of spending their morning in contact with nature. The meeting point was in Povoação’s Municipal Garden and at 10am. With a sunny day, the participants started their field trip with a visit to the project’s greenhouse in Lomba do Loução.


In the greenhouse, the project team technician, Filipe Figueiredo, explained all the work that has been developed for the native plants production and the most relevant methodologies applied, from the seeds collection until the germination, and also the plants acclimatization by transferring them to the nursing beds outside of the greenhouse.


The next stop was in Labaçal, in Serra da Tronqueira, where the participants saw the work done on what concerns to the Laurel Forest recovery. Since this was one of the first areas to be intervened during this project, it’s possible to have an idea about the state before and after the intervention.


After this, the participants went to the viewpoint of Serra da Tronqueira where they were given some explanations about the native vegetation that can be seen from that viewpoint and about the invasive plants expansion in the central area of Serra da Tronqueira.


The field trip ended at Priolo’s Environmental Center (PEC), where SPEA’s technician Azucena de la Cruz gave an explanation about the flora and fauna that can be observed in the SPA Pico da Vara/Ribeira do Guilherme, as well as different aspects about Priolo and importance of these endangered habitats.


At the end, remained the promise to participate in more activities and the will of getting to know better the work developed by SPEA in Azores.

The Project’s greenhouse reaches 36 000 plants

For the first time since the construction of the Sustainable Laurel Life Project’s greenhouse, we exceeded the barrier of the 35 000 native plants production.

The production of native plants in the greenhouse, in the previous years, reached 27 000 plants. With this milestone, we increased the number of plants available to plant in the project’s intervention areas.


As usual, the Azorian Heather is the plant with the highest success rate, about 22 000 plants, the Heather follows with 3 710 plants. In adittion, there was an increased success in the germination of other plants, such as the Laurel, the Buckthorn, the Picconia and the Azorean Blueberry, among others.

Unfortunately, we also verified some decrease in the germination of some plants, such as the Faya Tree that has very low germination records.


After two years, since it started at 100%, the Sustainable Laurel Life Project’s greenhouse has been filled with plants that will be replanted in the Natural Forest areas were the project’s intervention takes place.