Oak groves, horse rearing and the sustainable use of resources

Many natural areas are the product of mutual adaptation. Human beings extract resources in a sustainable way, adapting the environment rationally. At the same time, human beings adapt to their environment so that buildings and lifestyle are an extension of the land and its inhabitants.

The oak groves of Izki, in Álava, are an example of sustainable use of resources. Breeding horses does not need big changes to the surrounding area, on the contrary, it benefits many plant and animal species, like the lesser spotted woodpecker, a bird which is now very rare in other northern parts of the peninsula. Some forests in the North have been saved in extremis from the serious alterations caused by mining.

Juan Varela, Biologist and naturalist painter