The mayor of Adeje, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga, announced today, Thursday 5 June, a new initiative that links environmental sustainability with employment opportunities for people with disabilities through the Las Nieves Forest. He made the announcement during the World Environment Day event held in the Las Nieves Forest, which was attended by municipal representatives, community groups and various organisations.
From now on, the Las Nieves Forest will host a Special Employment Centre (Centro Especial de Empleo, CEE) for people with disabilities, who will work in this green space. Both the forest and the new Special Employment Centre will be managed by the ALAS Foundation, a recently established entity promoted by Adeje Town Hall to channel all actions related to disability, especially those aimed at facilitating access to employment. The foundation was created with the aim of supporting the training and labour integration of people with disabilities.
The mayor explained that “we are embarking on a project that brings together two fundamental dimensions: a commitment to nature and a commitment to people. This forest, which has already been a model for employing people in vulnerable situations, now takes a further step in the realm of inclusive employment. And this is only the beginning. We are already drafting the specifications for a second green space with the same inclusive focus, at the entrance to the municipality. We are moving towards an Adeje that is not only more reforested but also more equitable”.
In addition to the official ceremony and technical visit, the open-doors day included a programme aimed at families, especially children. Children were able to create their own biodegradable pot, learn about seeds and obtain their “biodiversity passport”. Guided tours were offered in morning and afternoon slots to encourage citizen participation.
Present at the event were representatives from organisations such as Atelsam, Rotary Club Tenerife Sur, BPW Canarias, FAST, CEST, Autismo Sur, Asociación Vecinal La Postura, the Adeje Equality Council, Fundación Canaria Carrera por la Vida, Asociación San Juan, Adeje Volunteer Firefighters, Orobal, the Taxi Drivers’ Cooperative, as well as the national police and civil guard, local schools, healthcare centres, parish priests, sports clubs and representatives from the hotel sector. The day continued with a technical visit led by the team managing the project.
A forest you can taste!
Over the years, the Las Nieves Forest has become a benchmark for sustainability. Covering an area of 30,000 square metres, it combines a botanical garden, an edible forest, an extensive productive agricultural zone and a 290-cubic-metre lagoon that is home to fish, amphibians, aquatic plants and wild birds. More than 35 varieties of vegetables are currently grown, yielding one tonne every three months, which is donated to the Municipal Food Bank.
This space now houses over 25,000 different plant species, including native trees, palms, fruit trees and plants from more than 600 botanical families. Furthermore, the Las Nieves Forest functions as a carbon sink, helping to absorb CO2, generate oxygen and improve air and soil quality. At present, one hectare of the forest can absorb up to 18 tonnes of CO2 per year.
With an educational and social vocation, Adeje Town Hall has also conceived the Las Nieves Forest as an open-air classroom, with spaces for workshops, training activities and gatherings related to environmental protection, sustainability and agroforestry. Starting today, this educational dimension is being expanded with actions specifically aimed at people with disabilities.
