On 14, 15 and 16 October, the Participatory Meetings of the LIFE Bear Defragmentation project were held in La Pola de Gordón (León), with the collaboration of the host city council. These meetings had the purpose of showing the results of the actions developed, evaluating them and discussing with different stakeholders and the local public about the importance and the keys of the coexistence between bears and humans in the territory of the Cantabrian interpoblacional corridor. Thematic meetings have been held with local stakeholders, hunters, farmers and beekeepers, in which a total of 78 people participated, to share and resolve doubts and concerns about coexistence with bears. In addition to these meetings, about 150 schoolchildren from the municipalities involved in the project have participated in the various educational activities that have been carried out, as workshops, exhibitions, storytelling and games. These activities have helped children to learn more about the species and its habitat. To conclude the event, a field visit was carried out in Cármenes (León), to see the areas planted in the project, in which 61 neighbors participated. All the activities have been developed with the collaboration of different associations of the zone: Mountain Club Hiking Road, Club Deportivo Collalampa, Environmental Association Lacerta, Cultural Association La Mediana, Cultural Association Los Duendes de Tolibia.
October 2016
Children participating in one of the educational activities of the Participatory Meetings