May 23, 2024 — The Barbanza Ecosocial Laboratory is holding a citizen science event in which participating volunteers must identify as many flora and fauna species as possible in a “bioblitz” that will take place in the Froxán ‘monte vecinal’ on the first Saturday of June. This “bioblitz” aims to be the first of several biodiversity marathons organized by the Laboratory through the Montescola Foundation (the entity in charge of the Laboratory’s community foresight, volunteering, and environmental education activities) to discover and highlight the rich natural heritage of the participating ‘montes vecinales’ located in Rianxo, Porto do Son, and Lousame.

This first activity is taking place in Froxán, Lousame, which was recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme as one of the “Areas Conserved by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities” (ICCA) in 2017. Its areas of interest include Campo de Lamas, a peat bog included this year by the Xunta (regional government) in the Inventory of Wetlands of Galicia. The event will be led by a team of volunteer biologists and will use the free and open iNaturalist app, which has a specific project for Froxán.

The event is open to the public and all ages are welcome; it will begin at 10:00 a.m. with an introduction to the event and the space, as well as a presentation of the app itself for first-time users. Prior registration is required and must be made by sending an email to info@montescola.org by Friday the 31st.

Barbanza Ecosocial Lab has the support of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) of the Government of Spain, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.

Coordinated by Fundación RIA, the Barbanza Ecosocial Lab is a project dedicated to promoting the transition towards environmental sustainability and strengthening resilience in the territorial management of the Barbanza common land.