Progress on Phase V of the Mendebaldea Project which is planting vegetation
27/11/2023
The execution of Phase V of the Mendebaldea Project between the N-102 road and the south of the Jundiz industrial estate, which began with the works on Lot 1 (earthworks and laying the paths), has reached its halfway point in November with the start-up of Lot 2 (sowing and planting). Jundiz Park, a large green corridor around the industrial complex, is on its way to being completed as an extension of the Green Belt towards the west of the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Lot 1 of the project, executed between September and October 2023, has created a new pedestrian and cycle path using recycled materials that links the Jundiz Service Centre (CSJ) with the Ibaia campsite, also connecting Jundiz Park with the current Green Belt and the Zabalgana neighbourhood. As well as the path, two wooden footbridges will be installed in Lot 2 to bridge an irrigation ditch and a stream that cross the area.
The implementation of Lot 2, which includes site preparation, sowing and planting of various collections of vegetation, started in November. In line with the SDGs for 2030 objectives and the mission of 100 “Smart and Climate-Neutral Cities”, in which Vitoria-Gasteiz is a pioneer, the action includes the creation of permanent forests for carbon fixation and storage. Specifically, the aim is to afforest a total area of 2.6 hectares, generating the following types of vegetation using species native to the Alava plain: scrubland, holm oak, gall oak and riverside woodland, located according to the ecology of the terrain and the quality of the soil.
In this phase of the project, which is located in front of the façades of several companies on the industrial estate facing the access road to Vitoria-Gasteiz, most of the vegetation to be planted will be low-growing bushes and shrubs. This will ensure that future copses do not affect the visibility of the façades from the N-102. As well as these copses, 3,240 square metres of shrub, aromatic and riverside hedges will be installed, which, in addition to their aesthetic value, demarcate various spaces for the future maintenance of the park.
In addition to this, in collaboration with the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, more than a hundred elm trees (Ulmus minor), a variety selected for its resistance to graphiosis, will be planted to line the path. Composting and planting will also be carried out in areas with particularly thin soil.
In short, this action will increase the number of sustainable mobility routes by 2 kilometres and plant more than 11,100 plant specimens to nature-boost the area around the industrial estate and help to fight climate change. The project will be co-funded by the Basque Government through its aid programme to promote sustainable development and by European funds through the LIFE IP Urban Klima 2050 project, the largest climate action project in the Basque Country for the coming years.
