There they joined several of the activities of Lourambi, Lourinhã’s Environmental association. They observed the colony of swallows at the front of the Courthouse building – which Lourambi has been actively defending, having successfully obtained an judicial injunction that prevented the yearly destruction of nests.
They went on to visit a stretch of river that crosses Lourinhã, learned about the “River guardians Project” and participated in one of its key tasks – monitoring the river pollution and the animal life that inhabits its bed.
Finally, the group joined a community activity of beach cleaning, where a large breath of materials were collected from the beach totalling up to 50kg in about an hour of search. Nets and materials from fishing boats were by far the most abundant at this time of the year.
This field trip provided a close up view of the societal problems an environmental NGO faces, but it also highlighted the power of individuals and business partnerships to reach a common goal – preserve the community’s natural heritage.