XX Seminar of Environmental Documentation Centers and Protected Natural Areas

CENEAM, Valsaín (Segovia), from October 20 to October 22, 2021

Alfonso Peña. Documentation and Resources Center for Environmental Education of the Government of Cantabria (CEDREAC).

This year, from October 20 to 22, we have celebrated the 20th Seminar for the first time in a hybrid way: in person at CENEAM (Valsaín, Segovia) and online. Due to COVID19 health recommendations were followed and also the capacity in the facilities was lower, so we could reach more interested people through the online follow-up. 90 people, including center managers, librarians, experts and professors from universities of the 17 Autonomous Communities of the Spanish State and 13 National Parks, as well as other natural areas.

The Advisory Committee was also present at the seminar and contribute its experience in different aspects to the formation of the group: introduction to Scimago by Isidro Aguillo, a workshop by Jesús Tramullas and table design by Mario Pérez-Montoro.

Wednesday 20th October 2021

Due to the large number of participants, a video was made of their presentation. Lunch allowed us to have our first conversations after such a long time without attendance. The afternoon began with a review of the RECIDA Action Plan 2020-2021, in which we discussed the actions carried out during that period:

• Management of the network
• Review of centers located in natural areas.
• Presentation of the IFLA Green Library Award, where we became finalists in the project category.
• Administration of a common ebook platform.
• Exchange of information between the Association of Environmental Information Journalists (APIA) and the Network of Environmental Information and Documentation Centers of Spain (RECIDA) on events held.
• Beginning of the Book Club
• Information Products
• Updating of the Bibliography on the Interpretation of the Heritage (natural and cultural).
• Start of the update of the Guide on Biodiversity.
• Guide on children's literature, environment and SDGs Verde que te leo verde (Green I read you green).
• Start of the project Cinema and Environment.

• Dissemination: Collaboration with ONUBib newsletter, environmental events, courses, protocols, visits… Social Networks management . Although the data has been included in the RECIDA articles in Wikipedia and Vikipèdia, there is still room for improvement.

Next, we watched a video commemorating the 20th anniversary of this annual meeting and the emotional video messages of some people who participated in this network (Cristina García, Reyes Ovelleiro, Jorge Iriarte, Jacinto Prieto...).

The Sección ENSULIB of IFLA, Petra Hauke, Secretary of this Section, gave us an overview of the origins, functions and projects of the Section. She also explained the Green Libraries Network in Germany, of which she is a co-founder. Rosario Toril, current member of this section, said that from RECIDA we could collaborate in some projects, which is an opportunity to make ourselves known internationally by participating in the newsletter of the Section, using the sustainability checklist for buildings, equipment and management, participating in the Award Ceremony and getting to know tools and products from different countries.

Alfonso Peña del CEDREAC nos enseñó variadas  de gran utilidad para el trabajo diario, ya que necesitamos presentar de forma suficientemente atractiva, sin tener problemas de derechos de autor y de calidad fotografías, vídeos, efectos de audio, música de fondo, elaboración de textos, capturas de pantalla o diseño gráfico variado… Esta lista de acceso a estos recursos nos ayudarán en la gestión de las redes sociales y difusión de nuestros centros, sin que ellono nos suponga estrés y pérdida de tiempo extra en nuestra actividad laboral cotidiana.

Alfonso Peña from the Documentation and Resources Center for Environmental Education of the Government of Cantabria (CEDREAC), showed us several free information sources for social networks that are very useful for our daily work, since we need to present photos, videos, audio effects, background music, texts, screenshots or different graphic designs in a sufficiently attractive way, without having copyright and quality problems... This list of access to these resources will help us manage social networks and distribute our centers without causing us stress and losing extra time in our daily work. 

Some of the RECIDA alliances presented their projects: 

• Environmental communication in times of coronavirus was commented by María García de la Fuente, President of APIA. Two global emergencies with a very different social perception concern us today. The pandemic caused by the coronavirus has provoked a quick reaction in the population, due to its direct link with human health, while the effects of climate change, although already visible and close, are not clearly perceived by society as health damage. In both cases, the situations are emergencies, but the responses are different. Unfortunately, there is not a vaccine against climate change, and solutions take longer to implement. What has happened in both crises is an increase in news interest and greater demand for specialized information. The media is devoting more and more space to environmental information, which is due to greater public demand. In addition, the climate crisis and the COVID19 crisis have led to a resurgence of hoaxes and fake news, an area where expert journalists must also act as verifiers.
  
  
• 28.000 for climate. Miriam Campos from Teachers For Future Spain.
  
  
• Wool books with SDG Targets. Concha Rey Mejías, president of the Association IAIA, which aims to improve the quality of life of people in precarious situations by participating in creative and enriching ways in solidarity activities for the community, using wool as a common thread. The Association works in 3 areas: Health, Education and Solidarity. Wool stories are knitted and made in nursing homes and centers for people with mental illness and/or intellectual disabilities, which are then donated to the Association. Once these stories are finished, they are used in educational centers and/or libraries in environmental awareness workshops (SOS Abejas, SOS Cambio climático, SOS Lana) so that children can learn through experiences with wool.
  
  

• Advancing the SDGs through collaborative action. Natalia Carbonell Solbes. Coordinator of the International Campaigns of the Interuniversity Network of Guidance Teachers (RIPO). The International Network of SDG Advocates conveys how to advance the 2030 Agenda through awareness-raising, dissemination, communication and promotion of the SDGs under the prism of social change and citizen participation, placing great importance on collaboration between different actors. Following a roadmap with measurable challenges through strategic action lines. With an invitation to know and collaborate in the experiences, projects and actions promoted by the International Network of SDG Promoters of SPAIN, which relies on committed and empowered people as agents of change. Focus on education through specific programs (SDG 4, especially Goal 4.7 sustainable development). Support leadership skills of young people. Promote participatory actions with specific goals. Use collaborative digital work tools. Getting to know and sharing experiences that contribute to the SDGs. The conclusion is that in the Decade of Action, we need to work together for the SDGs, to feel like that we are an active part of the 2030 Agenda.
  
  

And finally, the centers presented their experiences:

• Building a Klimateka. Manu González. Cristina Enea Foundation.

• Europarc Experience Platform. Javier Puertas. Europarc Spain.
   

Thursday 21th October 2021

We began the morning with a presentation by Mario Pérez-Montoro of the University of Barcelona on Visual Table Design. "Tables are the Cinderella of data visualization”. In daily practice, more often than desired, they are designed without rigor and only according to esthetic criteria. But a good table, a table that communicates properly, is not an easy task. It is necessary to know the logical and perceptual principles that guarantee its communicative efficiency.

Then we continue with the experiences and projects of the centers. 

• Reading clubs in environmental information centers. Marga Muñóz. CDAMAZ and Karen Medel. Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona. Shared reading through book clubs provides an opportunity to build community with library users and, in the case of environmental information centers, is also a resource for promoting environmental awareness and science dissemination through dialog and discussion, reaching new audiences. Based on the experience of two RECIDA documentation centers (Museum of Natural Sciences in Barcelona -with events linked to temporary exhibitions- and the Water and Environment DC of Zaragoza -with monthly proposals alternating novels and essays), participating centers are invited to work in a network through the exchange of loans. The program also gives an overview of this activity in the current context, with references to reading groups in other spaces such as bookstores, cultural or environmental education centers, as well as a brief overview of the objectives, genres, practical details, difficulties, results and alternatives for setting up of reading groups based on a literature that has nature, the environment and sustainability as its common thread.
   
• Management of a digital magazine: the case of Actualidad Jurídica Ambiental. David Mercadal and Blanca Muyo. Library-Documentation Center. International Center for Environmental Law Studies (CIEDA-CIEMAT). The International Center of Studies of Environmental Rights (CIEDA) was founded in 2007 with the aim of studying and disseminating environmental law. The journal Actualidad Jurídica Ambiental, originated at the Universidade da Coruña, has been managed by CIEDA since 2011. It is published daily, is digital and free, and is divided into six sections: Articles, Commentaries, Legislation, Jurisprudence, News, and Bibliographical References. With a view to wider dissemination, the journal is part of the Open Access movement. It is indexed in recognized databases, such as DOAJ, Web of Science, EBSCO... indexed. And it is highly ranked in national metrics.
  
  
• Parks and libraries: a cross-cutting collaborative experience five years on. Silvia Rabat. Natural Areas Services Management. Diputació de Barcelona. In 2017, it started as a pilot project with the aim of improving knowledge of the territory and carrying out awareness and educational activities about the need to preserve the closest natural and cultural heritage within the framework of the public library and natural parks. It began in the Maresme region with a collaborative network of libraries and includes the parks of Serralada de Marina, Serralada Litoral and El Montnegre i el Corredor. In 2021, the project is present in six parks with 39 public libraries and five documentation centers. It has its own brand, slogan, common dissemination material, informative actions, educational bags for schools and fixed program of quarterly activities. Its success is based on a sense of togetherness, cross-cutting work and the participation of all the actors involved.
  
  
• Literary Ecomenu to savor nature. Ana Pardo. CEIDA-Galicia. The University Extension and Environmental Dissemination Center (CEIDA) is the reference center for environmental education that is responsible for coordinating, stimulating and promoting environmental awareness activities in all social sectors of the Galician territory. With the aim of expanding dissemination activities and publicizing the collections of the Documentation Center, during 2021 the Documentation Service launched a 'Literary Ecomenú', an activity to promote reading aimed at observing, feeling and marveling at nature through books and words. This activity, intended as a pilot project for all citizens, opened the center to a different audience than the one that normally uses its services, creating a space for reading aloud and thinking collectively about common environmental issues that we encounter every day.
  
  
• Food Suitcase and/or Climate Change Suitcase. Yolanda Monteiro. The Barcelona City Council Environmental Education Documentation Service presents this educational resource to develop skills to improve nutrition and awareness of food consumption from a food sovereignty perspective, and to promote healthy, fair and sustainable food. It is aimed at kindergartens, primary and elementary schools and can be borrowed from SDEA Engineering Solutions. It is aimed at teachers who want to develop activities and innovative and transformative projects on the agri-food system, highlighting the origin of food, the processing procedures or the impact of the agro-industrial system. The new guide Alimenta't amb seny - included in the case- is also presented, as well as its relationship with the general context of the project.
   

• Ecosocial Education. Susana Fernández. Employee´s House Foundation (FUHEM). FUHEM advocates for education for ecosocial change focused on solving social, economic, and ecological problems, and focused on achieving the wellbeing for those of us who inhabit this planet, aware of the limits and interdependencies that allow us to live. We present a proposal for a curriculum with an ecosocial perspective, whose objective is to allow teaching teams to integrate the ecosocial issues, through collective construction, a transdisciplinary approach and in an integrated way in the LOMCE curriculum (Organic Law Amending the Organic Law of Education). All this is accompanied by objectives, content, methods and evaluation. An education built on the pillars that sustain life.
  

   

Next, Guillermo López Linares, director of Salvaje Magazine, introduced us to this careful and interesting quarterly publication on environment and the countryside. It was founded in 2019 after a successful crowdfunding campaign that raised more than 50,000 euros from 1,500 donors. Its goal is to dispel the archaic, limited and pessimistic image that weighs on the Spanish countryside and its culture, replacing it with one that is more current, realistic and rich, reflecting the possibilities of growth, innovation and life in our villages and nature. Since its inception, the magazine has published some of the most important names in national journalism and literature, both current and classic: Andrea Abreu, Sergio del Molino, Sabina Urraca, Ander Izagirre, Ana María Matute, Julio Llamazares... And to also reflect its vision in the graphic field, it has collaborated with leading photographers and illustrators: Manu Brabo, Puño, Los Bravú, Francisco Márquez, Adara Sánchez... All this to offer a publication that establishes a new relationship between cities and empty Spain.

At the end of the morning, Jesús Tramullas, professor at the University of Zaragoza taught us how to create documents with easy labeling.

After lunch and taking advantage of the fact that autumn was showing itself in all its splendor. Antonio Moreno, biologist of CENEAM, made the route In the footsteps of Philip II in Valsaín.

In the afternoon, after a presentation on the themes of the RECIDA Association, groups were formed to work on different topics: Book Clubs, Social Networks and National Park Libraries.

We then participated in the live broadcast of the Twitch program led by Alfonso Peña En Plan Planeta. Environmental Education in the trenches to spread what RECIDA's green libraries are doing and to comment on the main environmental news of the week.

To close the day, Josep Melero recited the poem El reencuentro, which he had written for the occasion, and then we toasted the 20 years of the Seminars. Afterwards we had the traditional regional dinner and exchange of books.

Friday 22th October 2021

Rosario Toril presented a proposal for the Action Plan 2021-2022 with 6 action lines to be discussed and decided. Salustiano Torre noted that grants from the Biodiversity Foundation could help us.

Then, Isidro Aguillo from the Cybermetrics Laboratory of the Institute of Public Goods and Policies (IPP - CSIC) gave an interesting introduction to Scimago Graphica. On the other hand, he proposed that a Valsaín Declaration be drafted, expressing the threat to jobs in libraries and documentation centers, and that the Network should reinforce this position towards the institutions concerned. He presented these considerations so that they can take shape.

And Elena Escolano from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation updated us on the latest developments in the revision of the standard International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD) of the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions). Recently, the content has been updated to adapt it to the needs of the specialized user communities. The changes expanded the scope to include description of unpublished resources (manuscripts); improved description of cartographic resources and the description of constituents parts or analytical description. This update is pending publication. There was also a report on the ongoing work to adapt the ISBD to the new LRM (IFLA Library Reference Model) concept.

The Nature-based solutions for climate retrofitting of buildings (green Libraries) were explained by Salustiano Torre Casado of the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid.

Then we gave way to more experiences of the centers:

• The role of the environmental waste educator in the Valencian Community: training and resources. Víctor Benlloch. Environmental Education Center of the Valencian Community.
   
• CDOC's environmental documentary collections. Javier Fernández Aparicio. Centro de Documentación de Defensa (Defense Documentation Center). For Spain's interests, issues such as the environment, climate change or the management of natural and environmental disasters or energy sustainability in line with respect for ecology are already a priority. This means an increase in specific funding for the Ministry of Defense´s library network. The Centro de Documentación de Defensa (Cdoc) manages a constantly updated collection in traditional and digital formats, available to all internal and external users of the Ministry. The Cdoc's digital collection consists of databases, full texts and references, e-journals and access to more than 300 ebooks on the EBSCOhost platform.
  
  
• Green Library Mice: books and SDG projects. Rosario Toril y Teresa Antolín. CENEAM. Presentations of books and environmental projects through the CENEAM YouTube Channel.
  
  

• School Agenda 2030 based on the SDGs. José Manuel Gutiérrez Bastida. Ingurugela.

   

Two posters, one of them divided in two parts, were displayed in the auditorium: what you give to RECIDA and what RECIDA gives you and whose result is shown in the form of a word cloud.

The Cristina Enea Foundation asked for participation in the creation of a Klimateka.

A form was sent for the evaluation of the seminar. In summary, we can say that the implementation of the seminar in hybrid format has worked quite well, although there are aspects that need improvement, but it is a success because there are many more opportunities for participation.