The Junta de Castilla y León and the Iberdrola company, through the Natural Heritage Foundation, have made it possible for the Iruelas Valley to be a little closer to people with disabilities, thanks to the creation, in an area of 8,630 meters squares, of a garden that recreates the vegetation of the valley and that can be visited through a walkway. It is a new walk for people with disabilities in the Casa del Parque de Iruelas (Ávila).
The landscaping actions that have been carried out to enable this new walk for people with disabilities in the Casa del Parque de Iruelas (Ávila) from the Board of the Environment seek to allow natural spaces to have public use as one of the objectives priorities of the Natural Heritage Foundation.
The action has been possible with the collaboration of Iberdrola Renovables, patron of the Foundation and with which an agreement was signed for a total amount of 4.5 million euros for a period of four years, but also with that of the Fundación La Caixa, thanks to which the walkway has been installed.
The investments made in the natural spaces of the province of Ávila by the Ministry and the Foundation have involved a disbursement of almost 3 million euros, as they include actions such as an accessible path in the Iruelas Valley, improvement of public use in the Regional Park Gredos Sur, refurbishment of the access road to the Gredos Platform, a shelter and transport stop for hikers at the accesses to Gredos, various entomofauna studies, the adaptation of public use infrastructures in Iruelas and their adherence to the ‘Q’ for quality tourism , the management of the park houses or the start-up of adventure parks in Guisando and Hoyos del Espino.
In the case of the action carried out in the Casa del Parque del Valle de Iruelas, 8,360 square meters have been landscaped in which it has been tried to recreate the different biotopes of the reserve by creating an arboretum, so that Visitors get to know the different plant groups existing in the valley, from the High Mountain vegetation to the juniper with holm oaks, passing through a mixed forest -pines, melojos, broom trees, heather, etc.-, a gallery forest -alders, ash trees, willows and yews- and chestnut trees.
The garden has an accessible path for people with reduced mobility, made up of recycling material and in the form of a closed circuit that runs through the different biotopes, so that there are three areas of stay where visitors can rest or carry out recreational activities or educational, such as sensory games with feet or hands.
Likewise, a specific children’s area has been created, with accessible games such as a merry-go-round, a slide and several swings, while the environment in which the garden is located is an area of special interest, as it is located next to the shore of the swamp of El Burguillo, in a forest that has, as one of its great assets, a colony of vultures, taking into account that Iruelas is the largest black vulture reserve in Europe.
This will not be the only action carried out by Iberdrola in the natural areas of the province, nor will the Mancomunidad del Asocio, which manages a large part of Iruelas, either. Its president and mayor of Cebreros, Ángel Luis Alonso, highlighted the fact that the investments made also bring nature closer to people with disabilities and announced that, in terms of disability, work will continue on some more project that allows closing the circle to that everyone can visit these spaces.