 ADAPT MEMBERS HELP TO CLEAN UP EL CARMOLI SHORELINE
Following a talk given to ADAPT by Maria José Arce from Fundación Cluster (an organisation dedicated to the protection and conservation of the Mar Menor and supported by the CAM Bank) a group of members decided to become part of Voluntariado Ambiental; Environmental Volunteers. On the evening of Friday, 13th June, around 20 volunteers from ADAPT and several Spanish volunteers met at the San Pedro Salinas Centre for Conservation where we got to know one another and were told exactly what an environmental volunteer was and what we hoped to achieve.
We met again on Saturday morning for a lecture on the Mar Menor, how it was formed, what the environmental issues are and why it and especially El Marina de Carmoli were so important. El Carmoli is particularly important, firstly as a site where fresh and salt water mix so giving rise to a scarce and delicate environment and secondly as a wintering area for many species of birds. After an excellent lunch at the El Portuguese restaurant in Lo Pagan we returned to the Conservation Centre for a slideshow. The photographs taken by Guillermo, a conservationist working in the Calblanque Natural Park, covered local flora and fauna (birds, insects, butterflies and plants) as well as photographs of Mar Menor landscapes. To say the photographs were stunning would be an understatement. This unassuming young man must rank as one of the best photographers in Spain, he has in fact had three photographs published in the National Geographic  Magazine. By now we were all itching to get down to the business of clearing the shoreline and the immediate area behind at El Carmoli. After we had been issued with distinctive T shirts, baseball caps and a pair of protective gloves we set to work. Feeling somewhat like the Wombles of Wimbledon we worked for approximately 3 hours and amassed a fine collection of rubbish, over two cubic metres. The majority of the rubbish consisted of plastic bottles, plastic bags and drinks cans. There were however, some rather bizarre items found including: a smashed kitchen sink, part of a cooker, a saucepan, a garden chair, a large sun parasol, a windsurfer cover and a single diver’s flipper. There were also a considerable numbers of items that caused much concern amongst the conservationists. The many broken bottles we found were not only a danger to the people making use of the area but broken glass can easily act as a magnifier for the sun’s rays and quickly start a fire. We also found many plastic items used to hold six packs of drinks together. These are a danger to birds which get their heads or feet through them and then get caught up and are unable to free themselves. The item which caused most concern by far was discarded fishing line, many lengths of this were collected, several of which still had hooks attached. Fishing line is especially lethal to birds as it can very easily become entangled around their necks, wings or legs where it gradually tightens resulting in a slow death or the loss of a leg or foot. With local press and TV also involved giving our efforts a much wider coverage it is hoped that visitors and especially anglers will be persuaded in future to take their rubbish home with them. Over the next three weeks we are going to learn about the flora of El Camoli and carry out an inventory of the plants growing there and about the scientific value of Bird Ringing and see it carried out at El Carmoli and finally find out more about the birds of the Mar Menor. We then finish the course with dinner for all who have been involved. We all thought Saturday was very worthwhile and a chance for us all to give something back to our adopted country whilst at the same time getting in some much needed practice with the Spanish language. To find out more about ADAPT visit our website at http:/www.adaptsanpedro.com/. Ray Marsh ADAPT |
