Costa Blanca

The importance of bees is a topic that children in Alicante are being taught

In the absence of bees, there would be no honey, no blossoms, and, as a result, no nougat at Christmas. Between Monday, March 10th, and April 15th, over 2,800 schoolchildren from 50 educational centres, organised into 86 groups of preschool, primary, and secondary school, will engage in an awareness campaign regarding the significance and protection of pollinating insects. This initiative is motivated by the significance of these small animals. Urban Environment Observatory of the Department of Environmental Sustainability, led by Manuel Villar, is responsible for the organisation of this initiative.

This activity will provide children with an understanding of the significance of these species, particularly bees, in maintaining the equilibrium of the environment. They guarantee the production of fruits, vegetables, and seeds by facilitating the growth of numerous plants and crops through pollination. Biodiversity and food security would be significantly compromised in their absence. Consequently, the city council is of the opinion that it is “fundamental to convey this message to schools, thereby raising awareness of their significance and the necessary measures to safeguard them.”

The El Rincón de la Abeja Association’s team of educators implemented the campaign, which was organised by the Municipal Department of Environmental Education of the Environmental Service. In order to ascertain which activities are most appropriate for each grade level, this organisation reached out to each school. The activity can be arranged in either one hour or one and a half hours, with the option of combining multiple activities or restricting it to the one that was initially selected by the target group, depending on our requirements.

Activities customised for preschool, primary, and secondary education

One of the Early Childhood Education activities is the narrative activity “Bees and Flowers,” which is a delightful activity that features music and scenery and depicts the life of a bee as it searches for a honey flower. Crafts, relaxation activities, and other activities, such as “The Bee Dance,” which entails the performance of the unique dance that bees perform to communicate information to the rest of the hive, are also available at this level.

In addition to educational content with audiovisual support, the “observation hive” is utilised for primary and secondary school groups. This experience provides a unique opportunity to interact with bees, including the ability to feel the vibrations, observe the bees’ movements, and observe their communication. Additionally, there is the “insect hotel,” which is constructed using recycled materials and features observation of its inhabitants.

The campaign was initiated as a result of the “Pollinators in the City of Alicante” workshop, which concluded with its fourth and final session in December at the Urban Environment Observatory, as well as its educational and environmental value. The objective of this event is to establish a connection between society and urban biodiversity.

This initiative was the outcome of a partnership between the University of Alicante, the Alicante City Council, and the El Rincón de la Abeja Association, and it was in accordance with the European 2030 objectives for sustainability and conservation. The symposium was instrumental in the future preservation of these urban species by providing information on pollinator mapping in various regions of Alicante. The opportunity to participate in a collaborative initiative that emphasises the significance of environmental preservation allowed participants to broaden their understanding of the identification and protection of urban pollinators.

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Related Topics:Alicante Children Council Environment University

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Costa Blanca

Alicante’s Urbanova Beach, finally campervan free

Over the past week, Urbanova Beach’s scenery has undergone significant transformation. The caravans have vanished from the parking area close to Urbanova Beach after months of homeowners’ concerns about overpopulation. Through a campaign and recent surveillance, the local police have intervened and accomplished what the inhabitants have long sought: the removal of large trucks from the area that, in certain cases, had been there for months.

Up until now, enforcement of municipal ordinances that forbid parking cars wider than five meters in specific locations has been slack. The Local Police have started an “on-site campaign” this week to alert camper van and motorhome owners about the new rules, according to municipal sources. Warnings of potential fines for repeat offences have been sent, even though no consequences have been applied as of yet. To stop a recurrence of the crime, two neighbourhood police officers assigned to the area will also continue to monitor the parking lot.

After months of grievances, the people of Urbanova are relieved by this intervention. The president of the Urbanova citizens’ organisation, María José Molina, emphasises the obvious changes in the neighbourhood. They have eliminated them, or at least there are fewer of them, and it appears like things are progressing. They’ve been informed by the local police, and it’s evident that they’ve acted,” Molina adds.

In addition to reducing beachgoers’ parking options, the overpopulation of these cars in Urbanova caused issues for the neighbourhood. Residents blasted the car parks transformation into a makeshift camping area with the placement of seats, tables, and even tents as an excessive infringement on public space.

The issue of RV parking in Alicante has not been resolved, despite the fact that the work in Urbanova has temporarily freed the area. Owners of these cars are currently forced to look for alternatives on beaches and in residential areas because the city lacks public locations specifically designed for this kind of vehicle.

The only official motorhome parking space on Playa de San Juan was closed in 2021, making matters worse. The area had previously been used for Cirque du Soleil and other events, but it was never reopened. The Institute of Tourism Research at the University of Alicante was commissioned by the Alicante City Council in January of this year to evaluate the financial effects of motorhome tourism and investigate potential remedies. Though it is not ruled out that it would be on the oceanfront or second line, the potential of making municipal land accessible for this usage is being explored.

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Costa Blanca

59-year-old scooter rider dies on the Orihuela Costa

On Wednesday afternoon, 2nd April, on the Orihuela Costa, a 59-year-old man died while riding an electric scooter on Calle Baikal, close to La Florida urbanisation.

A medical team was sent to the scene after the Emergency Information and Coordination Centre (Cicu) got a report of a scooter fall.

The Urgent Medical Aid Service (Samu) staff used advanced cardiac resuscitation and other stabilisation procedures after discovering the man on the ground.

Since there was no reaction to the resuscitation attempts, the medical staff could only confirm the 59-year-old man’s death.

Accidents involving scooters

Within a week, there have been two more scooter accidents in the province. The first was a collision with a tram on line 2 in Alicante on 28th March.

Two ambulances were called to the scene of the incident, which happened close to San Vicente del Raspeig’s Outlet shopping centre.

The 32-year-old male was transported to the Alicante hospital after suffering several injuries, including a fractured leg.

Last Monday was the second accident. On the same line, a 17-year-old girl riding a scooter collided with another tram. She was bruised and taken to Sant Joan Hospital.

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Costa Blanca

Finestrat stops issuing new licenses for tourists accommodation

Due to rising demand and the fact that vacation rentals are more profitable than long-term rentals, there has been a notable surge in these types of rentals in the major Costa Blanca attractions in recent years.

Numerous city councils have previously attempted to limit this practice because many experts now identify it as one of the primary reasons for the astounding and unchecked increase in rental rates. Finestrat is the most recent to do so, having decided in a plenary session to halt the issuance of new licences until a new ordinance governing the industry is written.

When asked why the local government team came to this conclusion, Víctor Llinares, the Urban Planning Councillor for Finestrat, admitted that “everyone is aware of the proliferation of housing in this area and the problems that are sometimes arising from making this use compatible with residential use.”

In this sense, the council’s goal is to create order between these two regions, which are now hazy. It has been decided, according to Linares, to temporarily halt the granting of certificates “in order to study the draughting of an ordinance that specifically regulates in which areas and under what conditions certificates of compatibility for tourist use will be granted from now on.”

Thus, Finestrat joins other towns like Altea, l’Alfàs del Pi, and Polop in the Marina Baixa zone, which is one of the most popular tourist destinations along the entire Alicante coast, where permits are stopped.

Additionally, the plenary assembly in Benidorm on Monday, 31st March, approved giving the local police and the municipal inspection corps the authority that has previously been held by the regional governments to examine these accommodations and punish those who break these rules.