Priolo Featured in a Seminar in Castro Verde

The Ornithological Tourism in the Azores and the socio-economic impact of conservation projects of Priolo and its habitat in the region, were yesterday, April 11, featured in the seminar organized in Castro Verde by the League for the Protection of Nature devoted to "Potential of ornithological tourism for sustainable development of rural areas in Portugal. "

The presentation was made by the coordinator of the LIFE Sustainable Laurel Forest Project, Joaquim Teodósio from SPEA, that beyond the potential of this region for tourism, addressed issues such as the result of ongoing work over the last decade, creating 20 jobs annually in the Counties of Nordeste and Povoação, over 150 regional companies already covered by the project itself and the impact on the GDP of the Azores, valued in 2008 at approximately € 350,000 of annual direct contribution.

Another aspect spoken was the process that led to the award of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism on the Lands of Priolo (counties of Nordeste and Povoação), as well as the Priolo Brand (who has registered 20 applications for membership from businesses).

The European Charter for Sustainable Tourism and the Priolo Brand are excellent examples of good practice in the management of nature and public participation, allied to local development, being the subject of interest from several participants of this seminar. These participatory processes ongoing in the Azores are still quite pioneering in Portugal.

For more information visit:

http://www.lpn.pt/Homepage/Agenda/Proximos-Eventos/Events.aspx?olderEvents=false&tabid=2427&code=pt&ItemID=816

Peatbogs highlighted in Povoação

The School Program of the Priolo's Environmental Center and the Life Sustainable Laurel Forest Project continues to develop activities in the municipality of Povoação. In total, 56 students from the 8th grade of the Basic School of Povoação watched yesterday, April 8, 2013, a lecture on the peatbogs, their rarity and importance, held by one of the LIFE Sustainable Laurel Forest Project technicians involved in the recovery of this habitat in São Miguel, Rui Botelho.

The peatbogs occupy 3% of the land surface and have 10% of the world's fresh water available for humans. These figures show the importance of the peatbogs in water retention that takes on increasing importance nowadays. In Azores, this type of habitat could be found in the tallest points of all islands in the archipelago, with the exception of Santa Maria and Graciosa, but due to several factors it began to be increasingly rare. The main threats to this habitat are its conversion to grassland or Cryptomeria forest, creating access or drainage ditches, mobilization of land, by grazing animals, introduction of exotic vegetation and even trampling by visitors.

The LIFE project, developed by SPEA in São Miguel, interventioned about 75 acres of this habitat in the Planalto dos Graminhais, an area included in the SPA Pico da Vara / Ribeira do Guilherme and where it can be found areas highly altered and degraded by human activities and invasion of alien species that threaten the fragile balance of this habitat. Among the main invasive species include the Chilean Rhubarb Gunnera tinctoria, Tree Fern Dicksonia artica Madeira Sweet Pepperbush Clethra arborea, brambles Rubus sp. and the Hydrangea Hydrangea macrophylla.

The students discovered a habitat that is close to them but for many of them, still unknown on what concerns to its function and understood the importance of protecting and developing recovery actions as heavy and slow as those carried out on the Planalto dos Graminhais.

The Life Sustainable Laurel Forest Project and the Priolo's Environmental Center thank all who attended this lecture and they invited everyone to visit this habitat so rare and important for the municipality of Povoação and Nordeste.

SPEA receives two new trainees in Azores

Since March that SPEA can now count on two new trainees. Juan Pedro Ruiz and Carles Fermi Jareño will collaborate on the Life Sustainable Laurel Forest Project and in the Priolo's Environmental Center, through the International Programme Eurodyssée.

Juan Ruiz, born in Alicante, Spain, graduated in Biology from the University of Murcia in 2010 and has a master's in Biodiversity Management in Mediterranean ecosystems (2011). He has Collaborated on some conservation projects, including the project Gypaetus in Cazorla and with SEO (Sociedad Española Oritológica) in a labor camp.

He will be part of the Life Sustainable Laurel Forest Project to support the conservation actions on the peatlands and in the greenhouse of endemic plants.

Juan Ruiz

Fermi Jareño was born in Valencia, Spain, he's an Agricultural Technical Engineer and is also a graduate in Environmental Sciences from the Polytechnic University of Valencia. In 2011, did an independent study on the Yellowstone National Park, describing its main features.

Currently he will collaborate with SPEA through the Priolo's Environmental Center.

Fermi Jareño

Both of them will be in São Miguel until August. SPEA gives them a warm welcome and hopes that their stay in São Miguel and in SPEA contributes very positively to their training.

Project's nursery visited by more than 100 people in 3 months

Since the beginning of 2013, the activities in the Life Sustainable Laurel Forest Project's nursery have seen a very significant increase compared to the same period in 2012.

There has been a weekly volunteer visits by the Primary and Secondary School of Povoação, in particular the classes of the Pedagogical Center of Povoação. These students, over these three months, have done an exceptional work regarding the transplanting of plants, particularly those smaller plants as the herbaceous as Patalugo, the Malfurada and Sargasso.

With this fantastic work done by these groups, more than 4000 plants have been transplanted, which is a great help to the work done in the Life Sustainable Laurel Forest Projest's nursery.

In addition to these weekly activities involving between 3 and 6 students, we have also had ​​some visits and volunteering, we have had in these 3 months around 100 people visiting the greenhouse.

SPEA is grateful to all of you for all your assistance hoping to continue with these disclosure and volunteering actions in the nursery.

Telephone campaign helps save the Priolo

By calling 760 45 55 65 anyone can contribute to the conservation work necessary to prevent the degradation of Priolo's habitat. The cost is € 0.60 + VAT per call.

Following the end of the international crowdfunding campaign, the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA) is launch this week th etelephone campaign to continue to join support for the Priolo's conservation.

The campaign will take place in the coming months and has the intention of mobilizing supporters for the continued work of conservating the species and the maintenance of its forest habitat unique in the Azores.

It's easy, just call!

The Priolo is counting on your help!

Volunteers planted 135 endemic plants

Last Saturday, February 23, the Life Sustainable Laurel Forest Project and the Priolo's Environmental Center promoted a voluntary action by planting endemic plants in one of the areas of natural forest recovered by the project.

The meeting point was at the Municipal Garden of Povoação at 9:30am and had 8 participants, accompanied by two technicians from SPEA. With everything ready they went to the area where the planting activity would take place, in Labaçal at Serra da Tronqueira.

Extremely enthusiastic and with pleasant weather conditions, despite the cloud cover, participants were able to go through that area, already recovered with Laurel Forest and get to know the recovery actions carried out on the area and the species that would be planted that morning.

It were planted 135 plants produced in the nursery of The Laurel Forest Project: 15 Laurel, 12 Virbunum, 12 Lily of the Valley tree, 28 Hawbit, 28 Imperitum and 40 Calluna Vulgaris. These plants were planted in one of the lower areas of Labaçal, an area that was still quite open and unprotected and that with this planting will be more protected and fulfilled.

The 8 volunteers worked enthusiastically and diligently throughout the course of the activity, got to know several species of natural forest in the Azores and even met one of the areas of intervention of the project.

We appreciate the participation and enthusiasm shown by all!

See you soon!

Priolo Fest announces bird endangered in Ponta Delgada

Last Saturday was held the PRIOLO FEST in the Gallery/Bar Arco 8 in Ponta Delgada, to publicize the International Crowdfunding campaign "Let's Preserve the Azores Bullfinch" which aims to raise funds to continue the preservation work of the Priolo and the Laurel Forest, developed by SPEA since 2003 in São Miguel.

This event featured exhibitions on the Priolo and its habitat and with the participation of several local artists, including Fungis Magic Truxis, Hassim Vaio, the Soap Bubbles girls, the clowns Chuvisco and Luna, DJ Zuga 73 and DJs YUZIN. The event was also supported by the Gallery/Bar Arco 8, Radio Atlântida and Topografia Aníbal.

The activities began at 5pm with exhibitions and many surprises for the many children that appeared. Parents and children were delighted with the Magic Fungis Truxis who built Priolos with balloons and held a performance of circus arts, Hassim Vaio helped to make art with boxes and paintings on the theme of the Priolo "Priolarte" and participated in games organized by the SPEA team. Some children even brought a reminder of Priolo, a shaped face painting.

During the afternoon and evening, the Chuvisco, from "SPEA" (being a Clown is to love) conducted an Atlas of Rare Birds-and with it made them laugh. Also the Soap Bubbles Girls surprised everyone with enormous soap bubbles and with all forms.

Around 10pm there was a moment of poetry entitled "Priolando", written by Carla Verissimo who shared with those present her message to the mural "Let's save the Priolo: Leave a message.". Then Luna came in, with "Open Beak and Wings in the Air", a fun activity that caused dozens of people to learn to fly.

Through the night, it were presented documentaries on the Priolo and conservation work that has been developed by SPEA and partners in San Miguel. The videos shown were "Priolo" - A film about the Azorean bullfinch and "Priolo - Behind the scenes", performed by Madalena Boto, the debut of "The Priolo Atlas 2012", authored by Aidnature.org, and two short films authored by Yaiza López on the work done by the LIFE Sustainable Laurel Forest Project.

The party continued with music by Zuga 73 and DJs YUZIN, that filled the Arco 8, in a night of dancing and animation, where the last sound heard was the singing of Priolo. Throughout the afternoon/evening over two hundred people got to know better this treasure of São Miguel and the Azores and learned to priolar!

The Priolo thanks all the participants for your interest in this important conservation work and all partners for their contribution to this event.

Learn how to contribute to the Crowdfunding campaign HERE

The Crowdfunding campaign exceeded the $8.000

The Crowdfunding Campaign “Let's Preserve the Azores Bullfinch” in wich the main purpose is to raise money to keep the conservation work of the Azorian Laurel Forest and therefore save the Priolo, already exceeded the value of $8.000. However the total value that SPEA is trying raise is $28.000.

This value needs to be raised until 1st of March of 2013, date in wich the campaign ends! The future of the Laurel Forest and the Priolo depends on the conservation work that SPEA has been doing since 2003, with the support of the Azorian Government.

Help us save the Priolo, an endemic bird of the São miguel Island! Contribute for this cause and spread the word to your family and friends.

The Priolo thanks you!

Visit the campaign site HERE

Visit to Graminhais celebrates World Wetlands Day

We celebrated on February 2nd the World Wetlands Day. The Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA), under the LIFE+ Sustainable Laurel Forest Project, associated to these commemorations organizing a guided visit to Planalto dos Graminhais to make this important natural area and wetland of the São Miguel Island Natural Park known, as well as the work done to its recovery.

The meeting point was at the parking lot of Ribeira dos Caldeirões, Achada do Nordeste, following the trip to Planalto dos Graminhais. Two families participated in this activity that were delighted with the chance to spent the morning outdoors.

During the visit to this important natural area, the participants got to know the intervention area of the Life Sustainable Laurel Forest Project, walking on the trail that covers this area and saw the recovery of the peatbogs.

It was also possible to see some species of birds that already started to be seen regularly in this area: Common snipe and Common Teal.

We thank all the participants the interest demonstrated in the work of recovery developed in this area and for their participation in this activity.

Pauleta's interview in RTP Azores

Pedro Pauleta, former-player of the National Team, visited the Life Sustainable Laurel Forest Project yesterday.

During this visit the Portuguese International gave an interview to the local news station, RTP Azores, alerting for the importance of the work carried through by SPEA to save the Priolo and the Azores natural forest, the Laurel Forest.

See the interview HERE