Urban Art and the Environment: Joining Forces for Cala Millor's Adaptation to Climate Change
- The LIFE AdaptCalaMillor project, involving the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB), has decided to use the expressive power of urban art as a transformative tool and catalyst to address the socio-environmental challenge of climate change, as well as the necessary adaptation of urban beaches to its consequences.
- A new mural in the Port of Cala Bona, created by urban artist Sath (Sandro Thomàs), will be integrated into the Color Millor urban art route. This work aims to raise awareness in society about the value of Posidonia oceanica for the marine ecosystem.
The LIFE AdaptCalaMillor project has chosen urban art as a tool to increase social awareness about the importance of Posidonia oceanica and its ecosystem benefits. This initiative is part of the public awareness strategies of the project, which aims to adapt the bay of Cala Millor to climate change.
In the port of Cala Bona, a unique mural has been created by local artist Sath, a native of Son Servera. Sath believes that urban art is “a powerful communicative tool that can reach all types of audiences, regardless of age or social status, with the simple goal of bringing art closer to people.” He also highlights its capacity to raise awareness by making current problems visible: “I believe urban art can transform a space, as well as the people who observe it,” he adds.
The work, titled "Posseidònia," fuses the words "posseir" (to possess in Catalan) and Posidonia. This mural aims to create a sense of belonging with the project and endure over time, transcending its temporary limits to achieve lasting cultural effectiveness.
This action seeks to convey the importance of Posidonia oceanica for the marine ecosystem. This endemic plant of the Mediterranean Sea forms extensive meadows and provides numerous ecosystem benefits: it plays a crucial role in sediment dynamics, as its leaf canopy promotes sedimentation and retention of suspended particles in the water, while its roots keep the sediment immobile; it also attenuates wave action, sequesters CO2 for centuries or millennia, serves as habitat for numerous organisms, contributes to water purification, and generates large amounts of oxygen in the seabed, among other benefits.
The mural joins the Color Millor urban art route, a large-format artistic collection that already features seven murals. This initiative was born with the intention of creating an open-air museum, seeking a reaction and dialogue with street viewers, creating community, and conveying values, stories, and positivity, while rehabilitating a public space.
Beyond its decorative aspect, this work seeks to convey a message that benefits the community and promotes environmental care. By intervening in the public space, it enhances the cultural heritage value of Cala Millor and evokes one of the project's fundamental pillars: the understanding and collaboration of stakeholders with interests and competencies in the bay, including citizens.
In this context, the LIFE AdaptCalaMillor project adopts an innovative approach to transform the beach system and the urban area of the bay of Cala Millor, with the goal of adapting to climate change in the long term. This will be achieved through the implementation of governance and participation mechanisms that will allow informed and science-based decision-making. It is a unique experience in Spain to design transformative projects for climate change adaptation in urban beaches.
Check here photos of the mural.
Foto: Detail of the mural created by the artist Sath at Cala Bona's port.
About LIFE AdaptCalaMillor
The LIFE AdaptCalaMillor project is an initiative aimed at developing a long-term local adaptation plan to climate change for the urban beach of Cala Millor. Its objective is to transform the beach system and the urban area to increase the resilience of infrastructure, ecosystem services, and socio-economy to the expected impacts. This ambitious initiative, scheduled for the period 2023-2027, focuses on science-based methodologies and participatory and governance schemes. Its aim is to improve the understanding of physical processes on an urban beach and anticipate morphological changes resulting from global climate change.
LIFE AdaptCalaMillor is a project supported by the European Commission through the LIFE financial instrument, coordinated by the Department of Business, Employment, and Energy of the Government of the Balearic Islands, through the Directorate General of Circular Economy, Energy Transition, and Climate Change. It involves the participation of: LANDLAB, landscape laboratory SLP, ICTS SOCIB, the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), the Conama Foundation, the Tourism Consortium of Son Servera and Sant Llorenç des Cardassar, the Environmental Hydraulics Institute of the University of Cantabria (IHCantabria), the Hotel Association of the Bay of Cala Millor, the University of Cantabria, and the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB).
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