Visit by students from Galicia's Forestry and Natural Environment Management Vocational School to the LIFE IP CLIMAZ project’s intervention areas

March 4, 2024

Since 2022, the Regional Directorate for Forest Resources has entered into internship agreements under the ERASMUS+ programme with several Spanish vocational training schools in Forestry and Natural Environment Management. This agreement aims to receive students for approximately three months so that they can carry out their curricular practice in the different areas of the Forestry Services, as well as training teachers in forestry management subjects through study visits.

On 7 and 8 December, as part of this collaboration, we hosted 15 students and 3 teachers from the Arzúa vocational school (Galicia – Spain) to the intervention areas of the LIFE IP CLIMAZ project (LIFE19 IPC/PT/000004) on São Miguel Island. Accompanied by technicians from the Regional Directorate and the Forestry Services of Ponta Delgada and Nordeste, the students had the opportunity to visit the forest nurseries for the production of endemic species in Furnas and Nordeste (Action C8.1 – Increasing capacity of DRRF's nurseries to deliver native plants needed to undertake ecosystem-based adaptation), and the restoration forest areas located in Achada and Algarvia ( Action C8.3 – Reconversion of existing forest to native non-production forest).

In this way, the students learnt about the different stages of production in a forest nursery, from seed treatment to planting in the field, and the work carried out in the reconversion forest areas, particularly to remove of invasive species in sloping areas. This visit allowed the students to put their knowledge of forestry into practice and adapt it to the biodiversity of the Azorean Forest ecosystems.

Find more about this project at www.lifeipclimaz.eu