Anger over loss of more than 500 trees in caring for environment project in Malaga town

The Bosque de los Niños (children's forest), an educational project that was created to bring schoolchildren in Villanueva del Trabuco in Malaga province closer to caring for the environment, has been seriously affected after the loss of more than 500 of the 572 plants that were planted when it first opened.

The space, designed for children to sponsor and care for their own tree, had in the last few days almost all of the plants dried out, which has put the spotlight on the current state of the area and the conditions that have led to this result.

The political group Trabuco Sí maintains that the area is in a "depressing state", with almost all the trees dry and no sign of the promised maintenance. The group recalls that the project was presented as an initiative for local families, with the participation of associations and Red Cross volunteers. They therefore consider it "particularly painful" that so many specimens planted by children, whose nameplates are still in place, have been lost. In fact, they point to "evident abandonment" and also point to the deterioration of other nearby infrastructures, such as the picnic areas and the pools, which have been without water for months.

In addition, the opposition questions the contrast between the media hype of the inauguration and the current state of the area. They claim that "the project was announced with great fanfare" but ended up with no follow-up. Trabuco Sí, which has already criticised the municipal management after the loss of the riverside forest in the Higueral area, argues that the case of the Bosque de los Niños confirms "a lack of sustained environmental planning over time".

The councillor for the environment, Alejandro Pascual, offered a different version to SUR. He claims that the project was started by the town hall as an educational experience and that the responsibility for the initial watering fell on the families. "The parents undertook to look after their own trees and in the end they didn't do it," he said. He explained that it is not a question of blaming the children, but insists that "the responsibility lay with the parents because we talked to them and they made a commitment".

Pascual explains that, in addition to the initial lack of irrigation, the area suffered an external problem that aggravated the situation. "We had a problem with the electricity supply, which meant that we were unable to have water in the picnic area for six or seven months," he said. According to the councillor, the pump that fed the irrigation system in the Bosque de los Niños remained inoperative until just over a month and a half ago, when the system was finally repaired.

In the same vein, the councillor indicated that, while the installation was not in operation, he decided not to replace plants because "I am not going to plant trees again knowing that there is no water or that they are not going to be watered". Once the technical problem was solved, he said that the trees were replanted and that the area now has an automatic watering system to avoid further problems. "It is now completely fixed, it has been possible to replant and now we have guarantees that the plants will be able to take hold", he said.

He also compared this episode to an earlier tree planting by Malaga's provincial authority, the Diputación de Málaga. "They planted 532 plants and all but three dried out," he argued, pointing out that the loss of young seedlings is a frequent phenomenon if adequate watering conditions are not maintained. He said that the municipal team has been working in the area for weeks, weeding, replacing stakes and making improvements prior to replanting. "We had already been working there for two weeks before they recorded the video," he said, referring to the opposition's criticism.

While the confrontation continues, the Bosque de los Niños has become a symbol of the debate on environmental management in Villanueva del Trabuco. Trabuco Sí insists that the town hall must take responsibility for the loss of the plantations, while the government maintains that it has already acted and that the area is "in good condition" after the latest interventions. The evolution of the new plantations and the perception of local residents could determine the political scope of a controversy that has become deeply rooted in the town.