A service-learning project on the Argentine parrot concludes

Written by Daniel Blazquez

Last Thursday, the URJC hosted the closing ceremony of a new edition of the Service-Learning program focused on the problem of invasive exotic species in urban centers, which has taken as a case study the Argentine parrot, scientifically known as 'Myiopsitta monachus', in the city of Móstoles.

As pointed out by Luis Cayuela and Isabel López Rull, researchers from the Global Change Research Institute From Rey Juan Carlos University and the project directors, “the initiative has allowed students to engage with a real-world problem for the first time, enabling them to carry out important environmental education work by addressing specific issues in their region and deepening the knowledge they have acquired in the classroom.” The organizers also emphasized the importance of these projects in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.

On this occasion, the students, through the citizen science platform iNaturalist, has completed a detailed population census in the municipality of Móstoles, providing to Town Hall The inventory of birds in the area serves as the basis for developing future management plans. In parallel, environmental education activities have been carried out in schools, parks, and on social media, aimed at communicating, from a scientific perspective, the potential impacts these birds can have on cities.

To conclude the event, a round table discussion was held in which government officials and academics debated the importance of basing public policies on scientific evidence. The session, led by the project's instructors, included presentations from staff from the Móstoles City Council and the company. Matinsa, the entity that carried out the parrot management plan in Madrid.