Lanzarote has hosted a tribute to the figure of Domingo Concepción García, a biologist, ornithologist, and environmental activist born in San Bartolomé on August 22, 1959, whose career left a deep mark on the defense of the natural environment of the island.
From El Jable to the University of La Laguna
The son of a farming family and one of nine siblings, Concepción García grew up between school, childhood games in El Morro, and farm work with his family. That early contact with the land—and especially with El Jable—would mark the rest of his life. Raised in a humble home but surrounded by books from childhood, he developed an insatiable curiosity for the environment he inhabited, which led him to graduate in Biology from the University of La Laguna in 1984.
As a biologist, he combined teaching at the Lanzarote University School of Tourism (EUTL) with research, outreach, and land cultivation, uniting scientific knowledge and agricultural work in the same vocation. His specialization in avifauna led him to build one of the largest ornithological documentary collections in the islands, as well as to sign numerous studies on agriculture, hunting, flora, protected areas, hiking, and environmental impact for institutions such as the Government of the Canary Islands, the universities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and La Laguna, the Cabildo of Lanzarote, and various city councils.
Pioneer of hiking and tireless activist
Concepción García was also a pioneer in the use of hiking as a tool for environmental awareness, organizing excursions and conferences for schoolchildren, young people, and adults since 1989, until he founded the company VolcanoBirds Treks and Tours in 2014.
His commitment to the island led him to lead, for three decades, some of the main citizen mobilizations in defense of the Lanzarote territory: against the radar at Montaña Blanca, the urban development intervention in Berrugo and Playa Quemada, the crusher at La Degollada, the golf courses in Tías and Maciot, or oil extraction, drafting in most cases the corresponding technical reports of allegations.
A career recognized with awards and institutional representation
Throughout his life, he held numerous representative positions: he presided over the El Guincho Cultural and Ecological Association (1998-2002), was part of the Council of the Lanzarote Biosphere Reserve, represented the Government of the Canary Islands on the Insular Board of Protected Areas and state environmental associations on the Board of Timanfaya National Park, among others. A member of the Spanish Ornithological Society (SEO) since 1992 and an expert bird bander since 2005, he also served as an advisor to SEO/BirdLife International for the updating of inventories of Special Protection Areas for Birds (ZEPA) and Important Bird Areas (IBA) in Lanzarote.
Among his accolades are the FCM Scholarship from the César Manrique Foundation (2004), the Biosphere Reference Award from the Cabildo de Lanzarote (2016), and, posthumously, the "Respect" Award from the Ethical and Responsible Tourism Awards (SPEL, Cabildo de Lanzarote, 2026).
The tribute ceremony
The tribute includes the inauguration of the exhibition "Las Cosas de Mingo," a minute of silence, welcome remarks by Mario Pérez, and the screening of the documentary "In Memory of the Birds." The program also features interventions by Ginés Díaz, Tony Rodríguez, Miguel Tejera, and Gustavo Cruz, a poem by Inés Caraballo, the participation of students and professors from the EUTL, the screening of the video "A Minute for Mingo," remarks from Domingo Concepción's family, and a musical performance by Jorge Cabrera Luzardo.
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