- More than 300 sixth-grade students participate in this year's educational days
- Fundación Cepsa adapts this training initiative to Covid19 with environmental education workshops in the classroom
This year the winners of the drawing contest on the Madrevieja Environmental Station and wetlands were Blanca Romero from Inmaculada de La Línea Elementary School (1st Prize), Ana Suárez from Puerto Blanco de Algeciras Elementary School (2nd Prize) and Abril Cortés, from the same school (3rd Prize). Carolina Durán from Sagrado Corazón Elementary School of Puente Mayorga in San Roque won the runner-up prize. The head of Fundación Cepsa in Campo de Gibraltar, Estrella Blanco, has delivered the first prize in the school.
This year a total of 305 sixth grade students from eight schools in Campo de Gibraltar have participated in the Wetlands educational program. The security protocols regarding Covid-19 have prevented the schoolchildren from visiting the Madrevieja Environmental Station so the environmental education workshops on the importance of wetlands for the maintenance of biodiversity have had to be held in classrooms or online.
Estrella Blanco emphasized that "the pandemic has made it more difficult but has not stopped the activity of Fundación Cepsa, which maintains this action aimed at increasing the knowledge of schoolchildren about the importance of wetlands as areas rich in biodiversity and their appreciation for the natural resources of Campo de Gibraltar". World Wetlands Day, whose motto this year was Water, wetlands and life, has been held on February 2 since 1977 in commemoration of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands signed in Ramsar (Iran). It is the first treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. First Cepsa and later Fundación Cepsa, have played a part in this celebration for the last seven years, running an environmental education program for children from schools in Campo de Gibraltar. Pupils participate in fun, educational workshops to learn about the importance of this type of natural spaces and the Madrevieja Environmental Station; the children are also invited to take part in a competition by submitting their drawings of the surroundings.
Madrevieja Environmental Station
In 2009, Cepsa decided to recover and restore this space as part of its policy on biodiversity, sustainability, commitment and respect for the environment, so as to promote nature research and also serve as a space for environmental education which is open to the public. Over ten years after the project started, it continues to grow in importance. It is now led by Fundación Cepsa and is the first of its kind in the province of Cádiz. The richness and diversity of its habitats have made the Madrevieja Environmental Station a true sanctuary for around 139 cataloged species of birds and 21 mammals.