The Department of Education programs activities in the classrooms for the care and protection of the Kentish Plover

The Councilor for Education of the Torrevieja City Council, Ricardo Recuero, accompanied by the Councilor for the Environment, Antonio Vidal, the biologist Estefanía Alonso and the deputy manager of Agamed, Gemma Cruz, have announced at a press conference the activities that are being carried out carried out in 8 schools in the town, specifically in the 3rd grade classrooms, to publicize the Kentish Plover. It is a project with which, through photographic exhibitions and dynamic activities, they bring children closer to these small birds and they can discover their natural habitat.

The project is developed in two consecutive days. The first is a chat with games, making it as enjoyable as possible, so that students know their characteristics and learn to respect these birds. According to Estefanía Alonso, in this way “they learn to love and enjoy them because it will be the only way we can protect these birds. At the end of the day, care for the environment must be promoted in education”

The second part of the project tries to get the children themselves to become scientific communicators, bringing science and caring for people closer to the classroom to raise awareness about bird conservation. To do this, each of them has to write an article based on a photograph of the exhibition and all of them will be collected in a scientific journal.

According to the biologist, the results seen in the classrooms have been very positive since "they learn the value that these birds have in Torrevieja, their importance and awareness with their care."

The Kentish Plover ( Charadrius alexandrinus ) is a small bird native to coastal lagoons and beaches with dune systems, which is endangered due to the sharp decline experienced by its populations in recent decades. In the official regulations for the protection of species of the Department of the Environment, it is classified as "vulnerable", although the Spanish Ornithological Society, in its latest edition of the Red Book of Birds, raised the category of threat to "ENDANGERED" species.

Last year, and for the third consecutive year, the Kentish Plover returned to nest successfully in Torrevieja in 2022, on the dune front of the "Molino del Agua" Municipal Natural Area, located on La Mata beach, the number having been 8. total number of pups that came out ahead, which is great news at an environmental level at a local, regional and national level.