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.

SPEA celebrates World Wetlands Day with a field trip to Planalto dos Graminhais

The Society for the Study of birds (SPEA), within the Sustainable Laurel Project, celebrated the World Wetlands Day on the last Saturday, February 4th, with a field trip to Planalto dos Graminhais, to divulge this important natural area.

The central area in Planalto dos Graminhais is one of the interventioned areas of the Sustainable Laurel Project. This project is a result of the partnership between SPEA, the Azorian Government and the Povoação Municipality, that aims to recover the peatgod areas existing on that area, among other objectives.


The peatbogs are wetlands essential to the water cycle regulation and to ensure the clean water supply and in enough quantities to the local population. The Planalto dos Graminhais is one of the biggest peatbog areas of Azores and is in an advanced degradation state due to the human action.


The meeting point was on Ribeira dos Caldeirões car park, in Achada, Nordeste, and counted with 15 participants. The field trip began on the old path entrance to Pico da Vara that crosses the intervention zone. Despite the fog and wind, it was possible for all the participants get to know the unique characteristics of this area better and understand more about the work that has been done for its recovery. It was also possible to see the areas where drain ditches where made, the paths recovery and erosion zones, among others.


In some places, the results of the implemented actions can already be observed and the musk is recovering in some of the most degraded areas, a good sign and an incentive to the future. In the end remained the desire of a new visit (preferably in a sunnier and warmer day).