Around 50 volunteers, including employees and relatives participated in the restoration and conservation of La Laguna Larga this weekend, a wetland environment that is part of the La Mancha Humeda Biosphere Reserve in Villacañas (Toledo).

  • This initiative is part of a corporate environmental volunteer programme launched by the energy company, with the aim of encouraging a positive attitude to environmental conservation in its employees.

Around 50 volunteers, including Gas Natural Fenosa employees and relatives, participated in a restoration and conservation project of La Laguna Larga this weekend, a wetland environment that is part of the La Mancha Humeda Biosphere Reserve in Villacañas (Toledo).This initiative is part of the corporate environmental volunteer programme launched by the energy company, with the aim of encouraging a positive attitude in its employees towards the conservation of the natural environment and biodiversity in the natural surroundings close to their Madrid and Barcelona workplaces.

The objective of the programme is to ensure that participants in the various initiatives perceive their relationship with nature and with their colleagues in a very different way from normal, giving them the opportunity to observe and improve the natural environment in the field.

Recovery of the wetlands

The participants took part in various restoration works in the wetlands, such as planting endangered plant species and collecting rubbish in deteriorated areas. They were also able to take part in a nature photography activity that involves observing the main threatened endemic species of flora present in these wetlands.

The activity began in the bird observatory, where volunteers were able to observe some of the most characteristic waterfowl species of the wetlands, such as flamingos.

This corporate volunteer initiative extends the framework of the company's collaboration in the LIFE project "Wetlands of La Mancha", coordinated by the Global Nature Fund and the Autonomous Government of Castilla-La Mancha, which is backed by the European Commission, Acciónatura and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment. Their work aims to recover the salt steppes and grasslands appearing around the wetlands of La Mancha which are priority habitats for the European Union.

Commitment to the environment and our natural surroundings

GAS NATURAL FENOSA maintains a firm commitment to society and has for many years adopted a corporate culture of respect for and awareness of the environment and environmental improvement, which it continually conveys to its employees, customers, suppliers and society in general.

Along these lines, the company incorporates its commitment to preserving biodiversity in all its businesses and activities, and has defined an environmental sustainability strategy based on these three targets: the minimisation of impacts on eco-systems; the conservation of natural assets; and the mitigation of global warming.

The company has just published the Biodiversity Report, which contains the best practices associated with the study and conservation of the environment, and environmental education and awareness.

Global Nature Foundation

For more than 20 years The Global Nature Foundation has worked on the conservation of areas and species and the restoration of degraded ecosystems, with special emphasis on wetlands. Over the last two decades, the foundation has worked with public and private entities to develop activities aimed at conserving biodiversity, both in Spain and within the framework of development aid projects.

As a charitable education foundation, all its projects include environmental awareness activities that take place through courses, workshops and corporate volunteer programmes on the ground.

Toledo, 13 October 2014.

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