{"id":759,"date":"2021-12-09T16:06:33","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T15:06:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/?p=759"},"modified":"2022-01-10T12:42:26","modified_gmt":"2022-01-10T11:42:26","slug":"be-a-superhero-challenge-santa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/?p=759","title":{"rendered":"Be a Superhero &#038; challenge Santa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"887\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Emu-9600.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"761\" data-link=\"https:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=761\" class=\"wp-image-761\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Emu-9600.jpg 887w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Emu-9600-266x300.jpg 266w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Emu-9600-768x866.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 887px) 100vw, 887px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Back when the dinosaurs ruled the world Daniela and I started a petition on Avaaz to try to save a little birding area down in the Algarve called &#8220;Salgados&#8221;.\u00a0 I say &#8220;little&#8221;, but it&#8217;s about 400 hectares of productive wetland and\u00a0scrub, squeezed on all sides by high-rises, one of the last untouched pieces of original Algarvean countryside along the southern coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-3898-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"769\" data-link=\"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=769\" class=\"wp-image-769\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-3898-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-3898-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-3898-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-3898.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;d been supportive of the effort for quite a few years beforehand, but in the Spring of 2012 everyone else seemed to give up hope as the developers literally moved into the area. The latter had oodles of cash, local and national politicians in their pockets and planning permission apparently granted; it seemed that nothing could stop them. The first bulldozers were already on site \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Daniela and I were incensed that this unique piece of Algarve coastline was being thrown away in the never-ending rush for tourist dollars, so, as a last throw of the dice, we set up a petition and promoted it as if our lives depended upon it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We threw ourselves wholeheartedly into the effort&nbsp;and&nbsp;largely put our lives and business on-hold. Everything went into the pot, all our family&#8217;s energy, most of our time and more money than we could afford. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-3-5104-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"764\" data-link=\"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=764\" class=\"wp-image-764\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-3-5104-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-3-5104-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-3-5104-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-3-5104.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We spoke to anyone and everyone, travelled here, there and everywhere, held demonstrations,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-4-5110-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"765\" data-link=\"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=765\" class=\"wp-image-765\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-4-5110-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-4-5110-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-4-5110-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-4-5110.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>garnered support from international celebrities, <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Bill-Oddie-1647-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"760\" data-link=\"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=760\" class=\"wp-image-760\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Bill-Oddie-1647-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Bill-Oddie-1647-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Bill-Oddie-1647-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Bill-Oddie-1647.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>gave lectures, interviews and awareness-raising meetings both in Portugal and abroad, <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-6 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-5-5111-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"766\" data-link=\"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=766\" class=\"wp-image-766\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-5-5111-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-5-5111-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-5-5111-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-5-5111.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>got the press to write articles, the TV to fill slots, NGOs from several different countries to lend their support, (most notably the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bto.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BTO<\/a> in the UK).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-7 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-2-4459-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"763\" data-link=\"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=763\" class=\"wp-image-763\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-2-4459-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-2-4459-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-2-4459-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-2-4459.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We put our heart and soul into it and it took over our lives more than we\u2019d ever imagined it would.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the normal, &#8220;Why bother? You&#8217;ll never win&#8221; comments that came from all corners, we battled through the&nbsp;nay-sayers, and slowly, but with an ever-increasing momentum, people joined us, an Action Group was formed with the help of Jo\u00e3o Ministro, (who&#8217;d studied the area in depth at University), Paul Rees from the Algarve Daily News and Natasha Bund from the Portugal Resident.&nbsp;We became not-so-alone, and the ball started to roll again. It became apparent that there was a groundswell of opinion very similar to ours &#8211; the petition just happened to be the catalyst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Quite quickly, (in hindsight), we saw &#8220;our&#8221; petition rise to become Portugal&#8217;s 2nd largest environmental petition ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the strength of it we raised a great amount of interest, had meetings with ministers and took the petition, nominally in a large collection of cardboard boxes, to the Government in Lisbon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-8 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-7-5945-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"768\" data-link=\"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=768\" class=\"wp-image-768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-7-5945-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-7-5945-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-7-5945-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Salgados-7-5945.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Then we struck lucky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks to a chap called Simon Wates, a knowledgeable and informed long-time resident of the area, we became aware of a rare, endemic, and beautiful flower on the site, \u201cLinaria algarviana\u201d.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-9 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"752\" height=\"1000\" src=\"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Linaria-algarviana-.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"762\" data-link=\"http:\/\/retreat-in-portugal.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=762\" class=\"wp-image-762\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Linaria-algarviana-.jpg 752w, https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Linaria-algarviana--226x300.jpg 226w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This was a game-changer and larger, more knowledgeable organisations than lowly us, notably &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.spea.pt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SPEA<\/a>&#8221; and &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.almargem.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Almargem<\/a>\u201d, challenged the developer&#8217;s Environmental Impact Assessment in court and all exploratory work on the site was stopped pending the judge\u2019s decision &#8211; and that&#8217;s where it&#8217;s been ever since &#8230; yes, don&#8217;t become involved in a legal process in this country unless you&#8217;re young, in good health and very, very patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the affair in court our lives returned to normal again as nothing could go ahead until the outcome of the court case, but in the background the effort continued quietly behind the scenes until, a few weeks ago, the ICNF, (Portugal&#8217;s Environmental Agency), announced out of the blue that it wanted to make the area a Nature Reserve!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wow! What a success! It&#8217;ll be the first new one in Portugal for over 20 years!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But hold your horses, it&#8217;s not a done deal &#8230;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It has to go to public consultation before anything&#8217;s approved &#8211; and that&#8217;s where YOU come in.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s an on-line consultation, <strong><em>open for 42 days only starting on the 9th December &#8217;21<\/em><\/strong>, and anyone can make a comment, yes, anyone from anywhere, so <em>I urge you, please, to do your bit<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>5 minutes and you become a Superhero, cape, mask, winged boots, the lot.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Make your voice heard; it&#8217;s easy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Go to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.participa.pt\">www.participa.pt<\/a>, say \u201cNo\u201d to more unwanted development and&nbsp;help us save a little bit of nature for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>OK, the site\u2019s all in Portuguese obviously, and it can be a little daunting, so here\u2019s step-by-step instructions that make it easy-peasy to make your voice heard. It looks difficult but it is really easy if you follow these steps to the letter.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><em>Go to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.participa.pt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.participa.pt<\/a><\/em><\/li><li><em>Click on \u201cRegisto\u201d in the top right hand corner.<\/em><\/li><li><em>Click \u201cIndividual\u201d<\/em><\/li><li><em>Fill in your name, (where it says \u201cNome\u201d), your email address, choose a password, (minimum 12 characters but no need for capital letters, numbers or special characters), confirm your password and choose \u201cSilves\u201d in the following box named \u201cConcelho\u201d.<\/em><\/li><li><em>Go to bottom left corner and check the box that starts \u2018Concordo\u2026\u2019<\/em><\/li><li><em>No need to fill in anything else on that page; just click \u201cSubmeter\u201d in the bottom right corner.<\/em><\/li><li><em>Close down the page &#8211; you\u2019ll open it again in a minute, but close it for the time being.<\/em><\/li><li><em>The Portal Participa site will send you an email straight away. Open it and click on the highlighted \u2018Ativa\u00e7\u00e3o de Registo\u2019\u00a0 link.<\/em><\/li><li><em>This\u2019ll open up www.participa.pt again on a login page but DON\u2019t use it. Just close the page completely and then open it up again by typing in www.participa.pt in your browser.<\/em><\/li><li><em>Now click \u201cLogin\u201d in the top right hand corner.<\/em><\/li><li><em>Fill in your email and password and hit &#8220;Entrar&#8221;.<\/em><\/li><li><em>In the search box enter \u201cSalgados\u201d and hit the magnifying glass.<\/em><\/li><li><em>Click on the big ICNF logo.<\/em><\/li><li><em>Scroll down and click \u201cParticipar\u201d on the left hand side below the text.<\/em><\/li><li><em>Click on &#8220;Particular (inserir identifica\u00e7\u00e3o e contactos)&#8221;<\/em><\/li><li><em>Click on &#8220;Proposta de cria\u00e7\u00e3o da \u00e1rea protegida de \u00e2mbito nacional: Reserva Natural da Lagoa dos Salgados&#8221;<\/em><\/li><li><em>Choose \u201cOutro\u201d<\/em><\/li><li><em>Now it is ESSENTIAL that you write something otherwise the next option doesn\u2019t open.<\/em><\/li><li><em>In the box below \u201cParticipa\u00e7\u00e3o\u201d you can write how much you value Salgados, how it\u2019s wonderful that Portugal is looking towards the future and has its eyes on more than short-term profit for big business, how having natural spaces is so necessary nowadays and how pleased you are that this is now being valued by Portugal\u2019s politicians for both Portugal\u2019s citizens and its visitors etc etc\u00a0<\/em><\/li><li><em>Now click on \u201cSubmeter\u201d at the bottom of the page &#8211; NOT \u201cSubmeter anexo\u201d.<\/em><\/li><li><em>Apply for your Superhero badge.<\/em><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh, and why not sign the petition as well? It\u2019s still open and the more the merrier! It\u2019s at <a href=\"https:\/\/secure.avaaz.org\/community_petitions\/en\/Save_Salgados_a_unique_internationally_recognized_birding_sanctuary_from_being_destroyed\/\">https:\/\/secure.avaaz.org\/community_petitions\/en\/Save_Salgados_a_unique_internationally_recognized_birding_sanctuary_from_being_destroyed\/<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, a word of warning; just be careful&nbsp;&nbsp;when you first start flying, OK? Birds make it look easier than it actually is &#8230; Happy Christmas and a VERY Merry New Year!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Back when the dinosaurs ruled the world Daniela and I started a petition on Avaaz to try to save a little birding area down in the Algarve called &#8220;Salgados&#8221;.\u00a0 I say &#8220;little&#8221;, but it&#8217;s about 400 hectares of productive wetland and\u00a0scrub, squeezed on all sides by high-rises, one of the last untouched pieces of original [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[260,259,205,261,262,158,163],"class_list":["post-759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-algarve","tag-almargem","tag-bto","tag-environment","tag-nature-reserve","tag-salgados","tag-spea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=759"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":781,"href":"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759\/revisions\/781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paradise-in-portugal.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}