Since the beginning of the restoration of the Ponta da Oliveira Garden, in Caniço, a space, managed by the Municipality of Santa Cruz in partnership with the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA), 50 volunteers have worked at the site. These actions aim to prevent the loss of the garden to erosion and replace invasive species with those that are endemic to the region.
A press release from the Santa Cruz City Council reads:
“Since September 2022, the recovery of the Ponta da Oliveira garden, in the parish of Caniço, has been carried out by the Municipality of Santa Cruz in partnership with SPEA (Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds), through recurring volunteer events, which are open to the public, to support this project that aims to prevent soil loss due to erosion; remove invasive alien species from the garden and promote the presence of new native and endemic plant species in the region; and create a visually pleasing environment in the Ponta da Oliveira area. So far, six volunteering activities have taken place in this garden, with the support of more than 50 volunteers, in addition to members of SPEA and the municipality.
In this garden can be found natural plants of the Archipelago, highlighting the massaroco, starleira, calendula, wild olive, beech, marcetela, fig tree-of-hell and malfurada, and on the 18th of June, it was the target of a new intervention, with the aim of safeguarding the survival of these species, and combating the proliferation of invasive plants such as scallop cane, castinio and weeping fig.
SPEA and the Municipality of Santa Cruz are partners in the fight against climate change and nature conservation. This recurring volunteering activity is just one of the many actions developed by this partnership. This activity is carried out within the framework of the LIFE Natura@night project, coordinated by SPEA and in which an alliance of 13 partners aims to take a very direct approach to the source of the problem.”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
