- More than a hundred CEU Cardenal Herrera University students have taken part in a reforestation day in La Pobla de Vallbona.
- Students from 25 different countries took part in reforesting acitvities, planting more than 700 specimens from a variety of native species.
More than a hundred CEU Cardenal Herrera University students and lecturers have taken part this weekend in a reforestation day in La Pobla de Vallbona, near Valencia.
The activity was organized by the Office of the Vice-Rector for Internationalization at CEU UCH together with Hidraqua and La Pobla’s town council, with the aim being to reforest the Safareig recreation area.
“Activities like this show are an example of our commitment to the environment and the world we live in.”
Chirag Sheth, Vice-Rector for Internationalization at CEU UCH
Amelia Navarro, Director of Sustainable Development and Equity at Hidraqua, also thinks that this initiative demonstrates the company’s commitment to the environment and the towns its provides its services to. “With these initiatives we can improve local ecosystems and boost biodiversity,” she said.
The town council member for agriculture, the environment, and public health in Pobla de Vallbona, Bonifaci R. Carrillo, also placed the emphasis on the town council’s commitment to these issues and the importance of collaboration across civil society to enable areas like this to be rewilded. “This project will give residents a green space to enjoy, while also providing a great location to enable biodiversity to thrive,” he said.
Also present at the reforesting activity were the manager of Hidraqua in the North Valencia area, Carolina Belda, and Hidraqua’s sustainable development officer, David Santacreu.
Learning and commitment
CEU UCH students from different degrees played their part in reforestation activity, as 700 specimens of different native species were planted. All of the activities were undertaken with the good of the environment in mind, as could be seen both in the plants chosen and in the type of compost used.
This compost is a combination of sewage sludge and urban plant waste and trimmings. “The compost is produced via advanced techniques enabling the safe re-use of the component substances as materials for the enrichment of the base soil for the reforestation,” said David Santacreu during a talk given to the activity participants.
In addition to hearing about the benefits of this innovative kind of compost, the members of the CEU community and representatives of the local council were also able to learn about the characteristics and properties of native plants from CEU UCH lecturer Isabel Martínez Solís, who is an expert in botany.
All the participating organizations committed themselves to monitoring the progress of the specimens planted at the event. The University also stated its intention to establish similar reforestation activities near its campuses in Castellón and Elche.
This reforestation intiative was organized by CEU UCH, Hidraqua and the town council (or ayuntamiento) of La Pobla de Vallbona, and it also received support from the Valencian government’s Conselleria de Agricultura, Desarrollo Rural, Emergencia Climática y Transición Ecológica, and Servalia.
