Orchid planting?

This mornings orchid planting turned out to be digging a ditch and erecting a fence around an area of the park where there are already a number of orchid plants growing, to protect them from the rabbits

 

 

 

Volunteers walk, by Jenny Dodd

After the monthly meeting of the Asociación de las Rutas y Caminos de la Sal on Saturday 7th November, about a dozen of the group of Volunteers

 

 

went on a walk from the information centre, the Casa Forestal, up to the far end of the lake of La Mata, at the roundabout junction to Los Montesinos.  The day was perfect, the lake calm and like a mirror and in places the silence was total, difficult to imagine for a place so near a major road and large town. Some of the group looked at plants and birds en route and were lucky to find things of interest.  We took note of the new signs which were made by a small working party that spent Saturday mornings for several months producing these. We all enjoyed the companionship as well as the walk and hope to repeat such activities in the future.

We welcome new members at our meeting once a month, the next of which will be on the 5th of December at the Casa Forestal, the little white house perched on the hill at the roundabout for La Mata.

We can give guided visits to the Park for small groups in English and German.

To find out more please look at our website which is www.lamataparkvolunteers.blogspot.com

If you would like to join us please contact our President Stephen Boll on email:  exgp10@yahoo.co.uk  or Secretary Maggie on tel. 96 684 8432

 

Meetings update

We used to meet on the second Thursday of every month at the Winegrowers' Association headquarters in La Mata. We now meet every first Saturday of the month (August excepted as it's too darn hot!) at the Park Headquarters in the large car park by the entrance from the N332. Hope to see new members there; we always love to welcome anyone interested in finding out what we do, especially those who'd like to help!

Here are some of us on October 12th, looking for the last few remaining wild flowers in the park, aided and abetted by our member Sheena. A lovely walk!

A busy day

A group of the volunteers of La Mata went to Guaradamar on October 1st to see an exhibition about the salt lakes of La Mata-Torrevieja.  Afterwards some of them enjoyed a BBQ on the terrace of Maureen where they had wonderful views of the sea at La Mata.  We enjoyed the chance to chat to each other on a social occasion.

On the same morning, the Press Secretary went to the presentation of Andy Ormiston's calendars and took delivery of 25 of these which will be sold for 5€ each and the money given to our charity of choice.

La Mata Fiesta Patronal

http://www.tourguidecourse.com/la-mata-fiesta-patronal/
Towards the end of another –  even hotter than usual –  summer, La Mata is celebrating its Patron Saint, the Virgin of the Rosary.


Today dawned with my usual yoga and meditation routine on my terrace, followed by a walk along the boardwalk with my dogs for a cup of coffee.









On the way back I walked across the town square, where residents were getting ready to enact the San Fermin festival of Pamplona, except that our version is for children, with ‘bulls’ chasing young people along the streets, amid much banging and screaming with glee.





The quiet Town Hall square began the day as a peaceful leafy haven, but was soon filled with hundreds of local families, when dancing began, and  music rang out till late into the night.

IMG_2712 San Fermin La Mata style. Children start running when the ‘bulls’ are released from their enclosure.
IMG_2713 Bull run La Mata style  ¡Corre! ¡Corre! Run, run!! The bulls are coming!
 

Wildlife in Torrevieja?

Spotted in the Parque de las Naciones!

Photo courtesy of Lisa Denton

PATROLLING THE PARK

One of the volunteer’s duties is to patrol areas of the park. We notify staff of any problems and some of us do a litter pick. This simple task has greatly improved the environment, and if you visit the park, you cannot fail to notice how tidy it is. The public often congratulate us and are appreciative of our efforts.

The work is rewarding, but it is frustrating and disappointing to see evidence of walkers and cyclists ignoring signs and making a path towards the lake. The idea of being close to the lake is tempting but access is strictly prohibited for very good reasons: conservation and protection of wildlife and fauna.

We would encourage all visitors to enjoy, but also respect, the park.

 

Maggie and George Hegarty

Young volunteers

Never too young to start volunteering. Two of my grandchildren, Olivia and Charles, receiving thanks from Jose Manuel after doing a 5km litter pick.

A good way to burn off some energy and learn the importance of keeping the countryside clean as well as enjoying the varied flora and fauna.

Stephen Boll

exgp10@yahoo.co.uk

Meet Mr President!

Hello everybody. Just a few words to introduce myself as the president of this association

My name is Stephen Boll. My wife, Ann, and I moved here late 2010 after I had retired. I have enjoyed natural history all my life and this developed into an interest in matters of the environment and conservation. I have no formal qualifications in these subjects but worked as a part time volunteer for Durham Wildlife Trust. It was through this I became introduced to bird ringing and eventually trained to become a qualified ringer. Unfortunately, I have not been able to continue this in Spain.

It is important that the Parque Natural de La Mata is maintained not only as a place for people to enjoy the countryside but also as an important area of conservation. In order to achieve this, we ought to take every opportunity to involve ourselves in the activities of the park through regular liaison with the Parque authorities and promoting more integration between our English and Spanish speaking members.