Activities have begun to bring the species and its habitat closer to primary and secondary school students in the three autonomous communities where the project is active, Andalusia, the Valencian Community and the Region of Murcia.
Specifically, the first activities, which were aimed at 4th year primary school pupils at CEIP Azorín in Catral (Alicante), consisted of a theoretical session and a visit to the El Hondo Natural Park, one of the wetlands where the species lives, and were carried out by ANSE, a partner in the project.
The project plans to carry out at least 100 activities in educational centres, which will bring the marbled teal and the wetlands, its habitat, closer to a large number of students living in priority areas for the species in Spain.
One of the main educational materials on which these activities are based is the didactic unit of the project. It consists, on the one hand, of an informative guide with content on the species, its biology, its conservation status and threats, as well as on the wetlands where they live, and the different uses and activities carried out there. On the other hand, it includes activity sheets for students, adapted to each age group, from 1st primary to 4th ESO, to put into practice what they have learnt, and their corresponding sheets with corrections and indications for teachers.
In addition, it also includes knowledge evaluation surveys, before and after the use of the didactic unit, and a diploma to be given to the students once they have finished the activities.
The use of the didactic unit will be complemented with school visits to the wetlands inhabited by the marbled teal. Courses will also be given to teachers and educators to provide these and other didactic materials developed by the project and give indications on how to use them. In addition, they are intended to introduce transversal contents on wetland conservation, environmental restoration, endangered species and social participation in the daily teaching of the participating teachers.
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAMME
These actions are part of the environmental education, participation and awareness programme of LIFE Cerceta Pardilla. The main objective of this programme, which will be carried out until 2025, will be to involve and raise awareness among those social agents whose activity has a special impact on the species, such as the sectors of agriculture, hunting, aquaculture, irrigation and, specifically, rice farmers, through which the involvement of the local population in the project will be facilitated, as well as the educational community.
This effort to raise awareness among the key actors for the species and the population that lives or carries out its economic activity in the areas where the brown teal is present is essential to achieve greater effectiveness of the conservation actions proposed by the project partners.
To achieve this, actions are being implemented such as informative seminars to inform the sectors involved at national level, training sessions for socio-economic sectors and with ornithological tourism companies, and environmental volunteer activities.
RESEARCH, CONSERVATION AND GOVERNANCE
LIFE Cerceta Pardilla aims to improve the conservation status of 3,000 hectares of wetlands to reverse the risk of extinction of Europe’s most endangered duck, which is in a critical situation in Spain. To this end, it has undertaken a series of actions to reinforce the state of its populations in the natural environment, improve the state of the wetlands and scientific knowledge of the species.
The project, which is coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, involves as partners the Ministry itself, through the Segura Hydrographic Confederation and Tragsatec; the Regional Government of Andalusia, through the Department of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy, and the Environment and Water Agency; the Regional Government of Valencia; the Government of the Region of Murcia, as well as the organisations SEO/BirdLife and ANSE. It is supported by the LIFE Programme of the European Union and the Directorate General for Water.
