On
April 27th and 28th it took the VIII Azorian Bullfinch Days in the Municipal Auditorium
of Povoação.
The Society
for the Study of Birds (SPEA), through the Priolo’s Environmental Center and
within the Sustainable Laurel Life Project, in partnership with the Escola
Básica e Secundária of Povoação and the Escola Profissional da Povoação,
organized the VIII Azorian Bullfinch Days. This event had also the objective of
celebrating the 20th anniversary of the European Commission Life
Program, that had contributed to a great extend to the conservation of the
Azorian Biodiversity.
This
year, the Azorian Bullfinch Days took place, once again, in Povoação township, Council
where the Sustainable Laurel Life Project is situated, project that comes to an
end in the end of the year and that has developed important work on what
concerns to the conservation, recovery and sustainability of the natural
habitats on the east cost of São Miguel’s island.
Therefore,
this event had as a main purpose to help acknowledging the Azorian
biodiversity, the conservation work developed by the different entities on the
eastern zone of the São Miguel Natural Island Park and the strategies to reach
the sustainability of the natural areas and the people that lives nearby.
These
Azorian Bullfinch Days had great adhesion by the school community of Povoação
and also from Nordeste, with the participation of several classes from Escola
Básica e Secundária da Povoação, Escola Profissional da Povoação and Escola
Profissional do Nordeste, in a total of 240 people among students, teachers and
other people interested in the subject.
It were
presented different subjects, namely about some species of native Azorian
plants, the diversity of arthropods
from Azores, the work developed in Furnas Lake, the possibilities of the active
tourism, the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism, among others.
One of
the main focus of this event was the work developed in the recovery of the Azorian
Laurel Forest and the peatbogs in Planalto dos Graminhais, which are directly
related to the Azorian Bullfinch and that raised curiosity by those attending
the event.
This
year and as an innovation, the Azorian Bullfinch Days programme extended until
Saturday with a guided tour to some of the intervention places from the Sustainable
Laurel Life Project, opened to everyone freely.
During
the week from April 23th to the 28th was opened to the public in the
Municipal Auditorium of Povoação the exhibition “ With Bones in your hands”,
which allowed the public to get to know better the birds existing in Azores and
the importance of their bones to the birds study. This exhibition was visited
for more than 260 visitors.
