Simon Wade
SHELTERS for bats and next boxes for birds have been installed on Orihuela’s Palm Grove in a bid to increase biodiversity in the area.
The city’s Faunatura Association team has installed 10 of the boxes for passerine birds and 5 bat shelters, all made during workshops on World Environment Day.
Throughout the June event, both children and adults assembled the boxes with a view to protecting urban wildlife and the ecosystems needed for them.
The boxes mostly get occupied at the beginning of the year, so installation was delayed until now to avoid unnecessary deterioration during the summer period.
Regarding bats, with their diet based almost exclusively on insects, their presence controls the densities of bothersome mosquitoes, flies and moths that can also affect crops in the area, as well as humans.
The passerine birds such as sparrows, chickadees and verdigris feed mainly on seeds and insects too, so their role as seed dispersers and pest controllers makes them great allies of humans, too.
Councillor for the Environment Atmosphere, Dámaso Apariciom, said: “With actions like this one, the Orihuela City Council not only contributes to the conservation of these species but also takes another step in the transformation of the municipality into a more sustainable city.”
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