Translator: Diego Tolaba Reviewer: Didar Omar
Good afternoon.
dedicate yourself to ecology education
means to keep up to date with scientific advances,
to know how environmental problems are evolving.
and it also that when you mention your job people may ask: What is that?
Ecology education is aimed at pointing out environmental problems.
Explain why those are considered problems.
Lastly, and most complicated of all,
to look for people to become agents of change,
giving them tools so they can act
and thus help improve environmental problems.
However, this said,
it seems logical that we’re not getting it
We can think it’s hard to achieve a proactive citizenship.
I get it. We are talking about changing the world, make it a better place
At first glance, it seems super difficult.
That’s why I say we have to start with something very simple
and it is observation.
It is very important that we learn to observe our surroundings,
but not only from our own view
but from a broad, ambientalist and critical perspective.
To recognize the mistakes and vacancies in our context
is fundamental to advance in climatic action.
If any of us has a look at almost any European city,
they would notice a lack of green areas.
More often, we find articles referring to the problems derived from that lacking,
saying that even mortality increases in some European cities.
But I don’t want to focus only in the quantity of green zones,
I want to talk about their quality.
I’ll give you an example:
between the two Malaga’s most populated districts
Carretera de Cádiz y Cruz de Humilladero
there are 177,000 square metres that are not currently being used
Well, the neighbors have claimed this land
to turn it into a green area.
But they don’t want a park.
You know, parks are considered green areas
We can think of one,
with swings, sidewalks
and vegetation mainly in grassplots.
No, they want a quality green zone.
In concrete, neighbors are claiming for an urban forest.
Some of you might be wondering
Isn’t a large park in a city an urban forest?
If we look it up on Wikipedia,
we’d find that this term was not defined.
Wikipedia offers examples of some urban forests around the world,
but it doesn’t say what it is.
It’s because this is a novelty.
We’ve always been in our development linked to nature.
However, with the expansion of the cities
we are being pushed away from it. We are isolated in our cities.
This was evident during the public health emergency for Coronavirus.
I can give some characteristics of the urban forests.
For example, they are large forest areas within an urban area.
They are also ecological islands,
filters that improve air quality,
And of course, due to their extension,
they help to reduce the effects of climate change,
like heat waves and torrencial rains.
That’s the reason why, to sum up,
we can say that urban forests are nature-based tools,
which help us to reduce the effects of climate change.
Moreover, there are some direct benefits
either for biodiversity as for citizens.
These kinds of projects are currently the ones we need to develop immediately.
If we want to keep living in cities,
with living good conditions, adapted to climate change,
we need to act,
and urban forests can be a great tool.
Finally, and because I’m a bit nervous
I want to recommend and ask you, as an ecology educator,
please, take a look.
Look around you,
think of ways for adapting climate change.
Because, maybe, with this observations,
as it happened six years ago in those areas of Malaga,
where change has already started.
Only observing, you might come up with ideas of how to improve and adapt it.
Perhaps with an idea,
you’re planting a seed for an urban forest
Thank you.
(Applause)