On Thursday 16th February, a wide representation of broadcasting media, covering national, regional and local press participated in a session held in the Alto Sil, León, to learn first-hand about the progress of the LIFE Osos con Futuro project actions. This meeting was held in the Coworking Centre of Caboalles de Arriba, in the Villablino municipality and where, following a welcome by the Councillor of the Environment, the participants received information from the three partners of the project: Guillermo Palomero, the Brown Bear Foundation president, covered how climate change affects bears and the production of the wild fruits on which they feed, in addition to an introduction to the project’s objectives and actions; Víctor Gutiérrez, coordinator for the ecosystem conservation and restauration team of the Biodiversity Foundation, talked about the joint efforts between the administrations and organisations for the recovery of emblematic species such as the brown bear; and Eduardo Álvarez, the coordinator for León of the Natural Heritage Foundation of Castilla y León , explained what the network of demonstration forest patches for the adaptation to climate change and to fruiting being developed within the project framework consists of.
The animated video “Recommendations for visiting the brown bear mountains”, also developed within this LIFE project, was screened after these explanations, providing a pleasant and visual means of spreading the best practices to be adopted to safely enjoy spare time activities in mountains with bear presence.
The visit continued in the municipalities of Palacios del Sil and Páramo del Sil to learn about the work of planting fruit trees and sweet chestnuts, where the reporters had time to carry out interviews, observe the work being carried out by the forestry teams of local workers and even to collaborate in the planting of a sweet chestnut tree.
Following a lunch break, a field trip in bear territory was organised in order to explain, in situ, the recommendations and guidelines to follow to avoid potential conflicts.
A total of 15 different reporters from 9 national, 3 regional, 2 provincial and 1 local media outlets attended, although the remainder of the nearby local media of El Bierzo and Laciana, especially radio, using the opportunity of the meeting to give live interviews via mobile phone calls. Representatives from the written press, agencies, digital media, radio and television were all present.
The project outreach was highly significant thanks to the hundred or so media impacts that the meeting generated.
The visit was organised in coordinated fashion by the three project partners: Biodiversity Foundation (Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge), Natural Heritage Foundation of Castilla y León (Castilla y León regional government) and the coordinating body, the Brown Bear Foundation.
The Government of Asturias and the Tierra Pura Foundation also collaborate in the project.