There is a new association fighting for the conservation of "Vita Nativa" in the Algarve

It is a very young association, but with very experienced directors and partners when it comes to nature conservation and environmental education. THE Native Vita was created in 2018 to reinforce action in these two areas and in environmental protection, particularly in the Algarve region, and is, among other initiatives, making Quinta do Lago golf courses more algarvians.

«Vita Nativa is an association founded in 2018 by nature and environment conservation enthusiasts. We have partners here in the Algarve and other parts of the country. Our goal is to do a little more for nature, especially in terms of conservation. We want to be active in this type of matter», summarized Thijs Valkenburg, president of the association, in statements to Sul Informação.

«We also do environmental education, so that there is greater awareness on the part of the population. We already have some protocols, namely one with the Municipality of Olhão, to provide environmental education to all 4th grade classes in the municipality, both in the classroom and in the field," added the same person in charge, like most of the association's members. , has a strong connection to the RIAS – Center for the Recovery and Research of Wild Animals, located in Quinta de Marim, headquarters of the Ria Formosa Natural Park – in his case, it is the place where he works.

Both nature conservation and environmental education are present in what is currently one of Vita Nativa's greatest challenges: the project it is developing in partnership with Quinta do Lago, on the existing golf courses in this tourist development in the municipality. of Loule.

«We have a project going on for almost a year, with the Quinta do Lago golf course, in order to make the course more ecological. We are promoting, for example, the use of indigenous plants, instead of exotic ones», framed the association's president.

«On the other hand, we are giving you directions on how to maintain the areas surrounding the golf course, we are putting up nest boxes, making hotels for insects. Another aspect is the conservation of habitats. They have many lakes and we are currently in the process of eradicating exotic species of both fish and plants, in order to try to renaturalize them. In principle, the idea is to continue for another year,” added Thijs Valkenburg.

Meanwhile, the work in the field is being carried out by António Cotão, a biologist and collaborator of the association.

«We are working on the three courses at Quinta do Lago Golf Course. We are surveying all fauna. In this first year, we paid a little more attention to bird species, which are the most diverse, but we also want to make them aware of everything else they have there, namely amphibians, reptiles, mammals and even plants," he said. to Sul Informação Antonio Cotão.

“The idea is to raise awareness not only of the technical teams, but also with customers. We are in tune with the Quinta do Lago golf managers to develop information panels, as well as some environmental management techniques that are friendlier to avifauna and flora», he added.

With regard to the partnership with the Chamber of Olhão, another major project that the association has in hand, Vita Nativa has already carried out «the vast majority of activities in the classroom, talking about the fauna and flora here in the area».

Now, what is missing is the part of field trips on the Marim maintenance circuit, which had to be postponed due to Covid-19. “Under normal conditions we would have already done it. Let's see when we have the opportunity to do so».

Meanwhile, Vita Nativa joined a national project, promoted by the Oceano Azul Foundation, which aims to «prepare a guide to good practices for cleaning beaches and coastal ecosystems». The Algarve association is one of the 23 entities and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that are partners of the foundation in this initiative.

"We have been holding meetings through online platforms to, in essence, share not only methodologies, but guides that may already exist, so that we can then prepare a document that will serve as a guide for any entity or individual that wants to promote a beach cleaning", revealed the Vita Nativa collaborator.

«In this specific case, being us and the Ciência Viva Center of Faro As the only Algarve entities involved, we added to the project the part linked to the Ria Formosa, one of the most estuarine habitats», considered António Cotão.

But the action of Vita Nativa does not stop there, with another objective being the holding of lectures, namely travel reports, and nature conservation and associative workshops.

One of these initiatives is the “Brama” science communication project, «which is already being boosted from Lisbon – because that's where the partner who boosts it lives. He has now started to dynamize gatherings with different guests, in order to deconstruct some complex issues and make them simpler for the population in general», explained Fábia Azevedo, vice president of the association.

For example, researchers and illustrators have passed through these conversations, «who spoke about their work in an accessible way to the general public. The first gatherings took place in Lisbon. We are trying to have one here in the Algarve this summer, but we still don't know if it will be possible».

At the beginning of the year, Vita Nativa promoted several initiatives, «namely a garbage collection at Quinta de Marim, in Olhão, as well as some amphibians observation trips, also at the headquarters of the Ria Formosa Natural Park».

«We had planned activities to observe the fauna of the Ria Formosa and short walking trails in different parts of the Algarve. We had planned an exit at Rocha da Pena, which we had to suspend due to Covid-19. We already had them scheduled for April and early May», explained António Cotão, who is the association's operative.

“As soon as possible, I think that very soon, we will be able to resume these types of actions and return to normality. We have a very rich area for doing this type of outdoor activities and I believe that people, after confinement, will be more open to participate», he believes.

But why create a new environmental association?

«We created Vita Nativa to fill in the gaps that we believe still exist in Portugal in terms of associations that promote nature conservation and environmental education», summarized Thijs Valkenburg.

“Many of us work at RIAS, so there will always be a strong focus on the conservation of animals, but also plants. But we also have members of the association's governing bodies that are linked to ecotourism, so we can also make some contribution in this area», explained the association's president.

For now, those responsible for Vita Nativa intend to «have a more regional action, focused here in the Algarve, because not much is happening. Of course there is Almargem, here RIAS and the A Rocha association, but we need more people involved in this fight».

At the moment, the young association has 115 members and is open to having many more. “Now with Covid-19 we had to cancel 5 or 6 activities that we had already planned for Spring, which were precisely aimed at involving current partners and attracting more members”.

“We are signing up as an NGO, so we really needed to have more than a hundred members. We are in this process and our idea is to apply for projects and work here in the region», reinforced Thijs Valkenburg.

To be a member, just go to association page. «There is a “Become a member” tab, with a very simple and easy-to-fill form. The annual fee is ten euros, which is a symbolic value, but it helps us to realize our projects».

The members, of course, benefit from advantages in the association's activities.

“We hope that after the summer, we will start with activities, so that we can involve the partners”, wishes the president of Vita Nativa.

Photos: Barbara Caetano|Sul Informação