Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
One hundred local volunteers, a record, climbed a mountain in Mijas on Sunday, 2nd February, to start replanting trees that will be decimated from wildfires by 2022.
Volunteers voluntarily took part in the long hike from Mijas up to the highest peak, carrying pots of saplings as well as gardening tools and water, all to help the forest re-grow. World Wildlife Fund Malaga hopes that this initiative begins the slow process of repopulating mountain ranges with trees necessary to clean the air in the Costa del Sol.
The volunteers, which included a Boy Scout troop and the Rotary club, were a mix of 50/50 local Spanish residents and foreigners. They were guided by WWF experts on how and where to plant different types of trees to prevent future fires.
Volunteers trek to devastated areas to start forest restoration
The devastation of the 2022 fires is more apparent at higher altitudes. Although a lot of clearing has already been done in the blackened forests, it’s clear that without the efforts of the locals, there is no hope of forests returning within our lifetimes.
The Red Cross managed the nursery where the more than 250 saplings were planted. But the Red Cross still needs the volunteer efforts to replace the hundreds hectares that have been lost due to the wildfires. Pinsapo is a native tree of Malaga and Cadiz, which is in danger to become extinct.
