The urban forest that disappeared under a mountain of rubble from Atlético de Madrid’s construction work around the Metropolitan Stadium will be replanted by the council itself, which will cover the cost and will not pass it on to the red-and-white club. The Almeida Government has announced that it will dedicate 7.4 million euros to the reconstruction of the former “butterfly oasis”, a quick project – it barely lasted two years – that created a space made up of various floral species intended as a home for many types of pollinators.
The oasis was opened during the first term of José Luis Martínez-Almeida, although it was promoted by councilors from the Ciudadanos side. But the transfer of several plots totaling 205,000 square meters to Atlético de Madrid to build its Sports City there led to it being buried a few months ago by the earth from the access works, the first carried out by the mattress team as part of their payment in kind to be able to use municipal lands without further cost for the next 75 years. Dozens of trees were buried in this place.
Now, the City Council’s Works and Services area has just announced the planting of 2,000 new trees in this environment. Sources from this department indicate that there was a previous agreement with Atlético by which they would leave the sand removed during the works in this space, that of the butterfly oasis, so that the council could later use it to build forests and green areas in the environment of the future sports space. In the agreement there was no talk of rubble or construction material, the municipal department emphasizes.
“These are surplus lands from the construction works of the City of Sports that have been contributed to the plot to form the topography of the new park,” the same sources point out. That is to say, his idea would have been to reuse the sand left over from the construction work for the Sports City and build other green areas with it. The plot that previously housed the insect shelter, as well as the so-called Carlos Llamas Forest, which was also located in the area, were not included in the proposal presented by Enrique Cerezo, president of Atlético, nor had its disappearance been announced.
But that did not prevent these spaces from ending up being used to deposit debris during construction or excavated material. Since then, butterflies have not flown over the terrain, nor have any other insects. To green its surroundings after a project that destroyed much of the nature in the surrounding area, the City Council announced the new project after the Government Meeting held this Thursday, which will cover more than 147,000 square meters.
The action foresees, verbatim, “the recovery of the butterfly oasis”, advised by the Zerynthia Association, the same one that at the time was responsible for creating other oases like this throughout the country and which a few months ago confirmed to Somos Madrid that The council had conveyed to them its intention to maintain the enclosure, avoiding criticizing the disappearance of the forest mass prior to the works.
After the last announcement by the City Council to repopulate the area, they celebrate the decision and admit to “not having been very sure” at the beginning that this project would end up being carried out. They say that, in addition, one of his colleagues prepared a proposal that he presented to the Works area while the trucks with sand were being transported to the area of the old butterfly oasis. It consisted of replanting native flowers in the place, something that the City Council has confirmed to Somos Madrid that it will do in accordance with what the Zerynthia initiative dictates, despite the fact that replanting does not appear in the public announcement for this new investment.
In addition to the 2,000 trees, Almeida also plans to replace the land adjacent to the building with up to 84,000 bushes. “The intervention will include the creation of a children’s play area, another exercise area for the elderly, a pump track for bicycles, a dog recreation area and a calisthenics area,” the City Council stated in a statement, in which it also announced a picnic area and a viewpoint, in addition to two insect hotels and six drinking water fountains. As for the species that will occupy the place of the disappeared forest, there will be pines, holm oaks, almond trees, olive trees and other species, arranged in different types of forest areas. For the butterfly oasis area, the idea is to recreate the old meadows and “enrich” them with seeding “specifically designed to maximize the number of local butterfly species that can use them,” details the City Council.
A local resident who lives a few meters from the old insect shelter, but who prefers to keep his name anonymous, is satisfied with the news. At first he was displeased when in the mornings he began to see trucks transporting dirt to the old green area. However, the fact that they are going to build new forests and recreational areas in that place or that they are trying to recover it as a home for butterflies is an idea that is applauded.
He lives very close to Luis Aragonés Avenue, at the end of Canillejas. And according to what he says, the City Council “did nothing more than give it a name and plant signs,” to promote the butterfly oasis, where he assures that “nothing had changed from before to after the inauguration,” since pollinators already populated the area. . “But I don’t care, because I’m glad it’s a green space again. It is what it has always been and what it should continue to be.”
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