February 28th: first visit to the quarry!

At the end of February, we visited the Rezola Cement Factory quarry, which is located near the municipalities of Arrigorriaga and Bilbao (Bizkaia), in the surroundings of Mount Pagasarri. Our aim was to explore the surroundings, identify habitats and plant species and determine the most suitable location for planting later in spring.

We first met the quarry's head of quality and environmental management, who gave us information on the different fronts we were interested in. Afterwards, we began our visit to the two closest fronts to the cement factory: 1M (marlstones) and 1C (limestones).
We surveyed the ground and took photos inside each front and finally decided to work on an area in the 1M front, next to a place where a reforestation action had already been carried out. Once we had established the plot, we measured the dimensions and identified the plant species in the area already replanted. We thought it was a good area because of its good accessibility and because planting close to an already reforested area will improve connectivity of the habitats after the mining activities.

Looking forward to coming back soon and starting the whole project with the youngsters!