Tauros have been released into the Greater Côa Valley for the first time. The herd will play a vital role in restoring grassland and woodland habitats in this rewilding landscape in Portugal.
In 2023, artistic expression is back in the Greater Côa Valley and art returns to the wild in this region. The “CÔA – Corridor of Arts” festival will have its first edition taking place in the summer of 2023, in the Greater Côa Valley. A festival that seeks to connect artists with communities in this natural environment, in order to co-create works of art that have integrated the landscape itself, using natural materials and respecting its natural decay.
Over a period of one year, the Greater Côa Valley and its rewilding areas have been receiving an artistic residency, which is nothing less than a journey that covers the entire Côa Valley, and in which the objective will be , at the end of the entire creative process to develop an “impressionist video-sonic poem”, by the artist duo Antony Lyons and Bárbara Carvalho, who won the competition promoted by the Endangered Landscapes Programme.
The juvenile cinereous vulture, Caravela, without GPS signal for two weeks, surprised our entire team. Its impressive journey would take it over 3000 km, between its nest and Senegal. Learn more about its story and how it managed to reach its destination.
In Rapoula do Côa, right in the heart of the Greater Côa Valley and far from all the Portuguese urbanity, there is a thermal paradise still unknown to many, even those who live and are from the region, but which has been attracting more and more tourists and curious people from all corners of the country and the world.
Brava is one of the griffon vultures that has been monitored for the longest time under the project Scaling Up Rewilding in the Greater Côa Valley. The information that is being collected about Brava and others allows us to collect important information for the knowledge and conservation of the species, such as its eating habits, and the places it chooses as its roost.
The increase complaints of vulture attacks has caused several moments of tension among local communities. It is increasingly important to analyze situations individually and unite the various stakeholders to find solutions that avoid situations like these and that can improve coexistence between species and the surrounding local communities.
This school year a new environmental education program has started in northern Portugal which seeks to bring students closer to nature. The focus of the EcoClubs is on teaching about biodiversity and promoting curiosity and pride in Portugal’s natural values. This environmental education program had to reinvent itself to reach young people in the region due to the current pandemic.
Ammunition used in hunting is currently one of the largest sources of lead emissions for the environment in Europe. For this reason, Rewilding Portugal, in partnership with Cacicambra, is organizing training actions for the use of alternative ammunition without lead. The first took place in September.
Last week, the first two information sessions in the area of LIFE WolFlux and Scaling Up Rewilding in Greater Côa Valley projects took place. They were in Vilar Maior and Covas do Monte and the balance of both is very positive