More than a hundred schoolchildren participated this Friday in the planting day framed in the environmental awareness campaign Bosque Ecopilas 2025, held at Casa Peraza, in the town of Los Valles (Teguise).
This initiative, promoted by the Cabildo of Lanzarote through the Waste Area and in collaboration with the Ecopilas Foundation, combines the promotion of recycling batteries with environmental restoration through the planting of native flora and traditional fruit trees. A total of 42 educational centers on the island have participated in the current edition.
During the day, the 5th grade Primary students - divided into five large groups - carried out the planting of trees in a garden area around Casa Peraza, also participating in the educational workshops proposed by the Cabildo on the rich biodiversity of Lanzarote, the danger of invasive species and the extensive island agricultural heritage. The students have been guided by the monitors, actively collaborating in the day the Papas Los Valles Association.
The Councilor for Waste of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Domingo Cejas, who has been accompanied by the Mayor of Teguise, Olivia Duque, among other public representatives and entities, has remarked "the great involvement of educational centers and the enthusiasm of boys and girls, who today have not only planted trees, but also environmental awareness." Cejas stressed that "the Ecopilas Forest not only recovers natural spaces, but also sows the future from education and action."
For his part, the Director of Marketing and Events of the Ecopilas Foundation, Julio Lema García, has highlighted the renewed commitment of Lanzarote and La Graciosa to recycling: "This type of project demonstrates how the small gesture of correctly depositing a battery can be transformed into something as big as creating a new green space." For each kilo of batteries collected, the foundation contributes an economic amount that is used entirely to finance reforestation projects.
The day concluded with the delivery by Councilor Domingo Cejas, who also helped in the planting, of the recognitions to the centers and students awarded for their involvement in the project, that is, the CEIP Capellanía del Yágabo (winner of the 2025 edition) and the CEIP Virgen de los Volcanes (winner 2024), whose students fueled the activity this Friday. The gifts included gifts from the Ecopilas Foundation and the Cabildo of Lanzarote, as well as a kilo of potatoes from Los Valles, given to each student by local producers.
A pioneering campaign
The Ecopilas Forest is a national campaign promoted by the Ecopilas Foundation, which takes place in different parts of the country with the aim of linking battery recycling with reforestation actions. It was in Lanzarote and La Graciosa, where this project was born at the state level, and has taken root in a special way thanks to the involvement of the Cabildo, educational centers and local groups.
Since its implementation, the project has been gaining strength year after year, reaching an accumulated of more than 19,400 kilos of used batteries. That is, almost a million units.
During this time, a total of five reforestation projects have been carried out, since the activity held in Casa Peraza - the culmination of this 2024/2025 edition - adds to the plantations carried out during the last courses in Finca Los Lajares, the slope of Montaña Blanca, Caleta de Sebo and Casa Mayor Guerra.
