For an entire school year, three schools have participated in this program to raise environmental awareness and actively conserve endangered species like the gallipato, caring for them in aquaterrariums installed in their classrooms, which housed a recreation of Valencian ecosystems. The "Naturalization of Classrooms" initiative, promoted by Caixa Popular and the BIOPARC Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment, has allowed the reintroduction of the characteristic "ofegabous" into their habitat.
What started as an experimental project can now be said to have become a real environmental education program. Naturalization of the Classrooms began with all the hope of achieving a better future for our planet from the hand of two entities with total involvement in society, Caixa Popular and BIOPARC Foundation.
This innovative activity involves bringing "a little piece" of Valencian ecosystems to schools, with the aim of sharing their knowledge, raising awareness of their value, and promoting their conservation. And, in just two editions, it has been a resounding success, exceeding expectations and, most importantly, engaging young people in the tremendous challenge we face. protect the environment.
Classroom Naturalization Project.
More than 150 schoolchildren The fifth-grade students from the CEIP Pinedo (Pinedo), the Colegio Sagrada Familia (Valencia) and the CEIP L'Almassil (Mislata) have not only participated throughout the course in Naturalization of the Classrooms, but have also made this proposal their own, getting involved in the entire process along with the essential participation of the teaching staff.
As planned by the Department of Education, everything began with a truly special visit to BIOPARC Valencia. In addition to touring the park, they would also learn firsthand about the technical facilities with the professional team specializing in aquatic species. The challenge ahead of them was “young conservationists” The objective was to provide all the necessary care to several specimens of gallipatos that would live for several months in a recreation of their ecosystem in the aquaterrariums set up in the classrooms. All this to discover their unique characteristics, observe their growth, metamorphosis (with their characteristic loss of gills) and, when the time came, reintroduce them into their habitat.
Conserving biodiversity.
This time has been a real adventure and a demonstration of the importance of promoting these activities to awaken the empathy towards the preservation of biodiversity. With the monitoring in the schools themselves by BIOPARC's educational and animal care staff, the three centers have managed to provide maximum well-being to the animals in their care and have been able to participate in the exciting repopulation that took place last month at the Balsa Blanca in the town of Enguera (Valencia), a place specially chosen by the Regional Ministry of the Environment, Water, Infrastructure and Territory with which this last and fundamental stage has been coordinated. This action repopulated with the gallipatos from the Naturalization of the Classrooms and others bred in BIOPARC, along with some triops, (Triops cancriformis), crustaceans considered “living fossils”.
It is a initiative that directly contributes to the recovery of our precious and threatened environment, as highlighted by the institutions involved. Cristina Pérez, Social Responsibility Technician People's Bank comments: “We have a strong commitment to the environment and environmental education. This collaboration was born with the aim of raising awareness in society about our great biodiversity and to promote the conservation of endangered species.” For his part, Toni Pradillo, Fauna Analyst at VAERSA of the Generalitat Valenciana, highlights: “We try to involve schoolchildren so that they participate in the conservation of fauna that in many cases they don't even know exists and that is truly spectacular. These are wonderful projects that, if they were replicated more widely, the environment would greatly appreciate it.” For her part, Nuria Casla, Head of BIOPARC Foundation He emphasizes: “We are working on several projects for native species whose populations are declining.”
The gallipato or ofegabous.
El gallipato (Pleurodeles waltl) is included in the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List and in the Valencian Catalogue of Endangered Fauna Species. The specialized staff of BIOPARC Valencia is significantly helping its preservation through controlled breeding in specially designated enclosures, which has made it possible this year repopulate with more than 160 individuals in the assigned wilderness areasAmphibians in general, and urodeles in particular, such as the "ofegabous," are little known to most people.
El The deterioration of their habitat is causing a serious decline in their population. This has prompted the need to increase its protection. This Ibero-Maghrebian endemic species can grow up to 30 cm in length, although the average is between 15 and 25 cm. Females lay their eggs in groups attached to underwater vegetation or rocks on the bottom, which hatch after 2-3 weeks. The larvae of the gallipato, which lives aquatic, must undergo a series of changes, such as the development of limbs, the reabsorption of external gills, and the development of lungs, until completing the metamorphosis process. In adults, two phases can be distinguished throughout the year: one terrestrial and the other aquatic.
In the aquatic phase, the skin is thin and smooth, and the tail has a cutaneous ridge that disappears in the terrestrial phase, when the skin also changes to a rougher and thickened appearance. However, the duration of each phase varies greatly, and some populations even spend the entire year in the water. It has a defense mechanism unique to amphibians: its ribs can protrude from its sides, becoming covered in toxic secretions, thus avoiding being ingested by a predator. In fact, seven to eleven brown or orange protuberances can be seen on its sides, housing the ends of its ribs. This characteristic, coupled with the fact that it often inhabits water sources for livestock and other animals, gives meaning to its Valencian name: “ofegabous” (bull drowner).
