The company presented the Municipality with the quarry after having planted 15,000 trees and shrubs
Sando has transferred possession of the fully restored Puerto quarry to the Municipality of Mijas. This completes an environmental restoration process, begun shortly after acquisition of the quarry in 2000, conducted in parallel with the operation of the site up until this year.
The ceremony officially ceding the quarry was attended by the acting Mayor of Mijas, Ana Román, Councillor for the Environment, Tamara Vera and the Councillor for Equality and Social Services, Fuensanta Lima. Sando was represented by the general manager of Materials and Supplies, José Villodres.
In coordination with the Junta of Andalucia and the Municipality of Mijas, Sando has fully restored and reforested the site, supervised by an oversight commission consisting of technicians from various public administrations. Thus, Sando has once again demonstrated its commitment to environmental responsibility in all of its operations.
The site was restored using a top-down technique, beginning with the regeneration and reforestation of the highest areas of the quarry and proceeding downward. This permits the restoration process to be verified while commercial exploitation continues in other areas of the quarry.
The restoration project included the plating of 15,000 trees and shrubs, principally Halepensis pine, with a height of one to one and a half metres, complemented with pine trees from Sando nurseries and a range of over 400 other plants.
A wide range of local native plants were also seeded in restored areas, including Giant Fennel, Sage, Marjoram, Thyme, Lavender, Melissa, grasses and legumes. More than 1,800kg of seeds were planted between 2009 and 2010.
A nursery was installed at the quarry itself to favour the adaptation of the trees and plants brought from other locations. Seeds of locally native trees and bushes were also collected and planted in pots to favour their adaptation to the local soil and climate conditions.
The restoration project also involved the creation of a drip irrigation system requiring the installation of special pumping equipment. This system was reviewed and maintained on a daily basis to ensure the proper irrigation of the site.
The final result of the restoration project has been the creation of 15 terraces in the west and 14 in the east of the site, with a height of 12 to 15 metres.
The Puerto quarry, also called “Cañada de los Canteros”, has a totoal area of 179,000 m2, where Sando has also created sports and recreation areas with athletics facilities, a football field and basketball court.
Additionally, two wetlands areas have been restored to create a favourable environment for amphibious wildlife: a treed recreation area of 13,700m2 with picnic benches and tables; a 4,000m2 parking area, a 2km hiking path with two observation points, as well as nests carved into the rock to encourage colonisation by native birds of prey.
Sando will undertake the maintenance of the quarry over the next two years, performing any corrective engineering tasks which may be necessary, replanting and further reforesting the area with hundreds of native trees and other plants, principally on the edges of pathways and trails.
Sando is committed to social and environmental responsibility in all its activities and operations both within Spain and around the world.
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