Environmental education initiatives aimed at raising awareness across the population, especially among younger generations, about the need for reforestation and mitigating climate change in a region highly susceptible to its effects. This action encourages community collaboration to reforest the Mértola municipality with native plants, specifically in this case, the holm oak (Quercus rotundifolia).

The initiative involves setting up wooden trays in various locations throughout the Mértola municipality, such as school grounds and easily accessible areas, prioritising active involvement and participation from both the school community and the general public. These wooden trays serve as storage areas for holm oak acorns intended for the Eurasian jay, a resident bird that collects and hides the acorns under leaves and ground vegetation for winter sustenance. Jays thus become primary dispersers of these seeds across the region, eventually giving rise to new holm oaks and supporting natural regeneration.

So far, five trays have been set up at primary schools within Mértola municipality, with an additional three distributed at Parque de Lazer, Quinta das Carochas, and near the Mértola Primary School perimeter, the Biológica de Mértola, and close to Mértola’s Basic and Secondary School. Further installations of trays are planned across the area.

For more information, contact: ebm@ebmertola.pt