Torraspapel Volunteer Day: more than 400 trees planted within the restoration project of the habitat of the banks of the River Tordera in Spain
Torraspapel includes in its Mission and Corporate Values its social commitment, which it manifests through policies and actions that have a positive impact on the communities in which it operates.
The Volunteer Day is part of this commitment and focuses on projects carried out by the company's employees who offer their time and effort for a given community initiative, in this case the reforestation of the banks of the River Tordera.
The Volunteer Day not only achieves a social benefit but also strengthens the company's corporate values through its employees and managements while reinforcing their sense of belonging to the company.
Project
: Restoration of the habitat of the banks of the River Tordera Over 30
Torraspapel employees, with the help and collaboration of the NGO
Acciónatura (previously Fundació Natura) , gathered as a working team to do their part in environmental improvement. The main aim was to restore the riverside habitat of the Tordera on its course through the municipality of Sant Celoni (Barcelona), by planting over 400 trees and bushes.
Goals and benefits
- To improve the current state of the vegetation.
- To increase biodiversity on the banks of the Tordera.
- To protect the natural condition of the river against torrential rains.
- To improve its longitudinal and transversal ecological connectivity.
Characteristics of the area
The River Tordera begins at the Font Bona spring in Sant Marçal (Montseny). The Tordera basin contains a number of natural spaces of notable importance such as the Nature Parks of the Montseny and Montnegre Hills or the Nature Reserve of the Arbúcies-Hostalric Stream.
But the Tordera basin is also the site of considerable socio-economic activity which has left its mark on the river over the years. As a result, on its course through Sant Celoni the river is highly degraded, due to both the restriction represented by the AP-7 motorway on its right bank and the industrial and residential estates on the left bank.
These actions have substantially altered the natural course of the river, causing the loss of habitats native to the area.
Actions performed
A total of 15 hectares of surface area of the banks of the Tordera was recovered. The reforestation was carried out with trees and bushes of various indigenous species.
On unstable terrains, in the line closest to the course of the river, species such as the white willow predominate, while intermediate zones are dominated by narrow-leaved ash.
Terrains with a more stable structure were reforested with alders accompanied by rosemary willow and grey willow, and in a second line alder and willow were interspersed with ash and hawthorn.
To carry out this project, Torraspapel had the help and support of Acciónatura, the first NGO created in Catalonia dedicated exclusively to the conservation of biological diversity by means of the protection, improvement and restoration of natural ecosystems.
Results
On 18 February 2006 the reforested area was presented to the media. This official inauguration ceremony was attended by the Catalan Environment Minister, the Mayor of Sant Celoni, the Catalan Water Agency and the marketing managers of the various collaborating companies. The event was marked by the symbolic planting of a tree by the speakers to present the area, which, with over 12,000 trees and bushes, is the largest reforested area in Catalonia. Acciónatura continues to reforest this area with the goal of achieving a total plantation of some 15,000 trees. |
For further technical information: www.accionatura.org