24 hours to save the bees!

We subscribe to Avaaz.org because they often come up with stuff that either makes us indignant (we obviously enjoy being indignant) or just plain angry about something. This is one of these latter cases, which starts with: "Quietly, globally, billions of bees are dying, threatening our crops and food. But if Bayer stops selling one group of pesticides, we could save bees from extinction." You can read more and express your own indignation by signing their petition here. You will be telling the Bayer shareholders' meeting in Germany tomorrow, how you feel about it.

Underground rubbish containers working at last - maybe

JIMENA A dozen places with 37 containers spread through the municipality, in Jimena village, Estación, San Pablo and Tesorillo, went into operation yesterday, according to an article in today's Europa Sur. But we went to see for ourselves at the main square and, while they may have been put into operation but you couldn't get to them because the old plastic containers were in front of them and they were inaccessible. In any case, it is our favourite municipal/private/Mancomunidad company, Arcgisa that will be collecting the rubbish that is supposedly going to be underground. Financed through several employment scheme monies, there are two such places in Jimena village, another two in Estación, three in San Pablo and five in Tesorillo. (We first came across these underground containers for Jimena in December 2010: Underground rubbish containers to be installed soon.)

A walk in the muck as an environmental protest

LOS BARRIOS The local environmental protest group, Agaden, has organized a trip to a 'protest march' at Arroyo del Chorreón, the tributary of the Guadacortes River that runs through the area's rubbish tip in Los Barrios, for which there are plans to extend it. They are calling it 'a real environmental disaster' particularly because they have detected large quantities of leached heavy metals including chrome, nickel and cadmium, among others. They are setting out from Jimena at 11am on Saturday, March 3, from the main square. The route's organizers will be handing out masks and protective gear - and for those who wish to have the 'water' analysed, they will provide containers. This promises to be an important environmental protest march with good media coverage.

Updating Plan Renove discounts on white goods

Save on renewing your white goods

As we said over the weekend (Update your white goods...), Plan Renove is back again, with a total Andalucía-wide budget of €16.5 million. The idea is to help us exchange our white goods to newer, more energy-efficient ones. The plan began last week and is expected to last until all the money is gone. It is possible to get discounts of up to about €600, depending on the items you choose. There are several requirements, simple to apply, that we are pleased to offer you below:>>>

More environmental crime

JIMENA (TioJimeno) "The photos speak for themselves (see web album). Nature Park. No environmental permits. No municipal licences. Seizure of roadway and public land. No technical supervision. It is not right that this outrage should keep happening. It us citizens who lose out because they are taking what is ours..."

Environmental crime in Jimena

Illegally felled trees

JIMENA An interested reader, Andrés Rebolledo Barreno, sent these photos to TioJimeno (see the web album here) to denounce what he considers a crime against the environment that took place in the area known as Viña Rodrigo. You are not allowed to chop down cork oaks without  considerable hassle. Among  other things, Andrés says that this whole thing 'smells vary badly' because it is neither part of the original plan, nor have any permits or licenses been obtained. The significant number of trees that were chopped down during the Christmas holidays, when presumably the authorities 'were on holiday'. It all points to governmental negligence, he adds. And, Andrés also says that he is saddened by the reaction -or rather, the non-reaction- of the people of Estación and Jimena in general, who have shown 'indifference and apathy' about such a crime.

Tree Day this Sunday

This year's Día del Árbol - in its venerable 27th year! - takes place this Sunday at Finca La Chinchilla (see map below), starting at 11 am. The place where trees are getting planted is along the Hozgarganta River canal (see map below). After planting the trees there will be the traditional paella and barbecues, so bring your own cutlery, plates and glasses, as well as whatever tool you use for planting trees (baby ones). Coincidentally, this is also the Year of the Forest, which makes this enterprise even more environmentally conscious. But fun is so very much part of the day that it makes it worth while.>>>

Mushroom Days get started tonight

JIMENA This year's Mycology Days, in their fourteenth edition, get under way this evening with their official opening by the new President of Diputación de Cádiz, José Loaiza García, and the equally new Delegate for the Environment of the province, Silvia López Garrido, who will be introduced by Mayor Guillermo Ruiz. There are also four lectures on the subject of wild mushrooms planned for today until Sunday and tomorrow, Saturday is the day to head off into the Los Alcornocales Nature Park to collect them - and Sunday is for eating them. There are all sorts of mushroom-related activities for the children at the Aljibe primary school just a bit further up the hill from the Reina Sofía Cultural Centre, which is the hub of it all. See the full programme for the 14th Jimena de la Frontera Mycology Workshops (or Days, whichever you please):>>>

Mushroom Days are here again

JIMENA This year's Mycology Workshops are scheduled for the weekend of November 25, 26 and 27, by which time it is hoped that the rain will have brought out a good crop of wild mushrooms to pick. The Jornadas Micológicas will be opened officially on Friday 25 at 18.30 by the new President of Diputación Provincial, José Loaiza García, together with the Provincial Delegate for the Environment, Silvia López Garrido, and Jimena Mayor Guillermo Ruíz Ruíz. There will be a total of 4 lectures on the subject over these days, at the Reina Sofía Cultural Centre, and Saturday is when registered visitors go out to pick mushrooms in the Los Alcornocales Nature Park. Activities for children will be held at the Aljibe school in Estación. See the whole programme below, and download the registration form with instructions here or below.>>>

What kind of environmental vigilance is this?

We picked this up from TioJimeno, who got it from one of their readers, Andrés Rebolledo Barreno, who took it on a walk along the Hozgarganta River. Outside barbecues are very strictly forbidden at this time of year for the enormous danger of brush fires. Andrés, a keen environmentalist, goes on to say that he found out that the BBQ had been left by a family that had spent three days over the weekend at that spot by one of the several abandoned mills along the river (this one's called Molino del Profesor), cooking by day and by night. He asks for more forestry vigilance in that area, as well as more police and Guardia presence because "the countryside as we know it could disappear at any moment. We cannot allow ourselves these luxuries, specially with the summer we're having, the wind, etc." He's right: if you see it, anywhere, report it right away.

Expensive but cheap, and not very friendly

(by Phil Heinzl) I have included a rather mundane photo about these eco lights. It isn't about the how economical they are or the wrong type of light etc., but more of a precaution for those who have them.  We noticed one which was lit and working correctly, had in fact split and was exposing its innards (how rude). On closer examination we found that the heat generated by the bulb had caused the plastic to disintegrate around its base and fall apart, thus making it almost impossible to remove without the use of pliers. Just a bad bulb I hear you say ... not so, we went to remove a second bulb and found the exact same problem. These bulbs are not cheap to buy and if they reportedly last longer than the conventional bulb, then maybe they should be made so as we can validate the manufacturers claims. (Fat chance of that happening!)

Hozgarganta River, subject of study group looking for volunteers

JIMENA - Some 600 metres of one of the affluents of the Hozgarganta, often called the only remaining virgin river of the Mediterranean Basin, is presently being subjected to a detailed study carried out by Agaden, the environmentalist pressure and study group. This is the second such study aimed at classifying and qualifying the vegetation of the riverbanks, and which this time is taking place at Arroyo del Cañuelo and Finca Chinchilla, where a total of 25 hectares will be under scrutiny.>

Tree Day re-scheduled yet again

JIMENA It seems to happen every year: Tree Planting Day is announced and the heavens open, which means it has to be re-scheduled. The last announced Tree Planting Day (Día del Árbol) had been planned for December 19 but had to be suspended (we never got a press release about it, either). This time, with these long holidays over and done with, though still within the rainy season, Agaden announces that it will now take place next Sunday, January 16, at the same time and place. In case you didn't know about the latter, it is at the Botanical Garden at El Risco (see map below), starting at 11am. They ask us to spread the word (you could e-mail a link to this article, and we encourage you to do so, please). The press release reminds us to take tree planting tools and refreshments - there will be a 'paella of conviviality' after the planting, so don´t forget plates and cutlery. If you don´t know this part of the village, a visit is a must, as the views are absolutely magnificent (get an idea from our DominGo article 'Take a Walk on the Wild Side' )

Photos of the eclipse

Some of the best pictures of the year's first eclipse of the sun are published in the world media, many of which you will be able to see if you click on the Intenationl Press widget on the sidebar that will take you to the world's top newspapers. On a more local level, though, today's online edition of Europa Sur, the Campo de Gibraltar's 'newspaper of reference', has a good selection of them, one of which is the photo that illustrates this item.

Reported for having wild species on his farm

JIMENA (EP) The Nature Protection Department of the Guardia Civil (Seprona) has confiscated ten wild animals, six of which are alive, from a farm in Jimena de la Frontera, whose owner has been reported for not being to prove their legal provenance. Alive are four deer and two boars that, according to the GC note, were in 'precarious health condition and unidentified.' Among the findings were also four deer heads 'in an advanceds state of decomposition', also without the proper paper work with which to identify their provenance. The live animals were taken to a centre run by the Environment Department of the Junta. The procedure, says the note, is part of a current campaign against illegal hunting.

Guadiaro River to get a clean out

(Press release/Photo: Noticias de San Pablo) The Agencia Andaluza del Agua, or water agency, announced recently that it would be cleaning out the riverbanks of the Guadiaro river within the municipality of Jimena. The removal of vegetation, sediment and other detritus along some 30,000 m2 are expected to improve the river's course and thus minimise flooding. Mayor Pascual Collado has been pleading with the water agency for months, and now expresses his thanks to the Junta's Department of the Environment.

The black spider of Los Alcornocales

JIMENA/SAN PABLO In Andalucia there lives a largeish black burrowing spider that belongs to the venomous funnel-web tarantula family. Its scientific name is Macrothele calpeiana and it belongs to the Hexathelidae group which is normally associated with Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Central Africa and South America. But this one lives in the Mediterranean region.  The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek 'makro' meaning large and 'thele', which refers to the spinnerets. The origin of the name calpeiana is from 'Calpe', a name the Phoenicians gave to Gibraltar. It is known in Spanish as La araña negra de los alcornocales because  the largest populations can be found within Los Alcornocales Nature Park. Why do we mention it?>

River Guadiaro as leisure and study centre

The 6th edition of the Jornadas de Interpretación del Río Guadiaro, or River Guadiaro Interpretation Workshops, takes place next weekend, from December 3 to 5. A great variety of activities are scheduled, including a photography exhibition, conferences, lectures, films, field trips and a host of other activities for all ages. The annual event is organized by San Pablo's Junta Municipal de Distrito with the support and cooperation of Jimena Town Hall, the Los Alcornocales Nature Park GDR (authority) and Diputación Provincial de Cádiz. See detailed programme below>

Rain does not stop play...

...if by play you mean going out into the countryside collecting mushrooms as part of this year's thirteenth edition of the Jornadas Micológicas (a title we have difficulty with: variously translated as Mycology Workshops, Mushroom Days, or a new one we were given last night, Mushroom Fair). Anyway, according to a town hall press release, 28 groups of hunters wet out early this morning in as many vehicles, despite the rain. Each group had with them a person who knows the area well, although some routes had to be changed at the last minute because of heavy fog at some of the highest destinations. Before departing, Mayor Pascual Collado (an enthusiastic walker and collector himself) offered words of advice about the weather conditions, which could prove dangerous to those who do not know the local countryside. Shortly after the adults set out, the children, with their own plans, headed out to the Pozos de Majarambú, near Castellar, where the terrain is a lot kinder. As we write, the vehicles are just beginning to return. This afternoon and evening's programme is as follows:>

Over 3,700 ornamental plants for Jimena

JIMENA Some 3775 plants, trees and bushes, all native species, are to be planted throughout the municipality thanks to the Plan de Arbolado Urbano of Diputación de Cádiz, according to Councillor Fernando Gómez, who heads the council's Department of the Environment. With a market value of over €22,000, many have already been planted in public places such as Avenida de los Deportes, plazas and squares, the castle hill, the new García Bravo Park, the park at Cruz Blanca, the Convent in Estacion and the fairground, among others. Anyone passing by the swimming pool will notice more plants stored there until needed.