Environmental volunteers analyze the water of the Sadar River and place nesting boxes in the campus

The group of Environmental Volunteers, in the School of Sciences. PHOTO: Manuel Castells

The group of Environmental Volunteers, promoted by the School of Sciences of the University of Navarra, has been involved in two conservation activities that have consisted of measuring water quality in the Sadar River and placing nesting boxes in the university campus .

In the case of the Sadar, the students checked the state of the river as part of the World Water Quality Control Day program in Spain. Thus, they collected data of two types: biotic - state of vegetation, invertebrates present in the water, etc. - and abiotic - such as pH, oxygen concentration or water turbidity. The group was the only one in Pamplona that analyzed the quality of the Sadar River within this international project .

According to one of the volunteers, Diego Calavia, "these measurements were carried out in ten sessions. Then, the data were sent to Adecagua, the organization that coordinates the project at national level and that, in turn, forwarded the data to the international program educational World Water Monitoring Day". In this way, adds student of 4th year Biology, the project allowed them to collaborate in the improvement of the environment, learn to make professional programs of study and do it, moreover, within a global study.

Nest boxesfor blue tits, coal tits or redstarts
The second activity of the team, in which 13 volunteers collaborated, consisted in the placement of nest boxes in the campus of the University of Navarra. "Our goal", says Ana Villarroya, a student of doctorate of Biology and coordinator of group, "consists of making it easier for some species of birds, which find it difficult to nest in our cities because the trees are too young, to do so in the nest boxes".

As the biologist explains, not all birds build their nests in tree branches. There are some that prefer the hollows of the trees or the slopes of the rivers: "Precisely for them these boxes are made of cement made with vegetable subject and tailored to the species that we are interested in taking care of".

Volunteers hung the nest boxes at a height of 2.5 to 4.5 meters, on tree branches, with holes suitable for species such as blue tits, chickadees or redstarts. "We also tried to avoid the north-northwest orientation, the windiest; and we made them just before the nesting period of these birds, which will begin in March."

According to the volunteer, these nest boxes can be placed in any garden, "although we will have to clean them every year and be aware that we should not disturb their inhabitants during the breeding season".

In total, some thirty volunteers participated in the two activities, most of whom were biology students, although architecture and law students also collaborated. Their actions have also been supported by Caja Rural de Navarra.