Background The “Bosc de Tosca”, situated within the Natural Park of the Volcanic Area of la Garrotxa in northern Spain, was once a major European forest. The forest was primarily home to oak trees, until the beginning of the 19th century when they were cut down for coal and wood. After deforestation, the area underwent a process of land clearing to prepare the land for cultivation; the volcanic stones were removed from the land, creating small cultivatable plots enclosed by walls built with the stones. Today the “Bosc de Tosca” is threatened by the growing city of Olot and unchecked activities, such as illegal waste sites and the proliferation of shanty towns. The environmental degradation of this area is further accelerated due to the extinction of traditional crops, changes in agricultural systems and irrigation problems. Objectives The project aimed to restore the “Bosc de Tosca”, a natural area of great environmental and ecological value, and protect this area from the dangers of environmental degradation that it was suffering due to the aggressive peripheral urban growth of Olot. The actions envisaged included the creation of a “scenic park” by constructing different thematic walks and the restoration of the species, vegetation, fauna and traditional crops to maintain the biodiversity of the forest. Control and management activities of the hydro resources in the area were also to be carried out to facilitate water supply to the clearings. Finally, in order to inform the citizens and the institutions about this initiative and consolidate the Park as a sustainable tourist area, the project included activities to support ecological tourism and the development of a pedagogical strategy for the natural environment. Results The project has successfully reached its objectives. The “Bosc de Tosca” area, a natural area of great environmental and ecological value, is now protected from the dangers of environmental degradation due to the aggressive peripheral urban growth of Olot. The results of the project will encourage educational and economic activities to consolidate the Park de Pedra as a sustainable tourist area. The methods and techniques used were innovative: the creation of a scenic park with a variety of thematic walking routes is a picturesque area which is internationally recognised, and which integrates artistic and cultural activities with environmental resources. The recovery of traditional crops, whose use is not bound by the logic of productivity, together with the practice of environmentally friendly agricultural techniques, facilitated the production and the publication of information concerning the ecological development of the Park. The initiatives implemented during the project have achieved important environmental benefits: 26 hectares of the woods of the “Bosc de Tosca” have been restored for tourist use and natural conservation; recovery of local crops which were no longer used, and other crops of special visual value - trifolium incarnatum and Lupinus spp. were cultivated to have some coloured fields to give colour to the Park; the promotion of ecological agriculture without the use of fertilizers or pesticides in 48 clearings; the monitoring and non-contamination of ground water; the protection and recovery of the area’s architectural heritage such as walls and huts made from volcanic stone - these constructions provide unique ecological characteristics which promote the development of a large number of species of local flora and fauna; the promotion of greater biodiversity; a long-term change in consumer habits and; a greater degree of implication in ecological awareness and education. The success achieved, and the degree of participation in the development of environmental education activities carried out within the framework of the project must also be noted. More than 30,000 people visited the Park or participated in the activities planned from 04/04 to 09/05. Every year, a set of sustainability focused activities were planned to be carried out in the Pedra Tosca Park. They consisted of conferences, exhibitions, workshops related to the Pedra Tosca crops, etc. as well as guided trips through the Park. The beneficiary has also had contacts with the Diputación de Girona to take part in their “school cultural actions” and in the “elderly people environmental education” initiative for the dissemination of the Park. The beneficiary promoted the cooperation between the clearings owners, the agricultural cooperatives of the area and gastronomical associations to make the traditional agricultural products (no longer used) known to the population. The first visible result of this agreement is that 8 restaurants in the area offer at least one fagopyrum esculentum dish in their menu. Furthermore, an essential oil producer is cultivating aromatic plants (Lavandula Vera and Rosmarinus Oficinalis) in order to study its economic viability. The quality of the partnership was a factor of the greatest importance, local cooperation (private and public) and the implication and commitment of the landowners were key factors for the success of this project. The public information campaign launched by the project was highly effective at local, national and European levels. Radio, television and written media coverage were all used and a large amount of high quality material was produced. . Here are a few examples of how the project was disseminated: - The beneficiary participated in various fairs (“Sant Lluc” Fair in Olot, “PROMA”, an environmental international fair in Bilbao); - Brochures, leaflets and posters were produced (for example the publication of a 12 pages dossier about the Park in Catalan, Spanish and English etc); - A large number of press releases were published in the local and provincial newspapers and an agreement was established with “Ediciones Primera Plana, S.A.” (the company that publishes the El Periódico de Catalunya newspaper) to disseminate the project. - A 5 minute documentary was shown on an environmental programme on the Televisió de Catalunya. - A 15 minute video presenting the park was created along with a CD. - A good quality website of the Parc de Pedra Tosca is available at: http://www.lespreses.org/parcdepedra/index.html. - The beneficiary carried out 12 Park promotional activities throughout the project, these included: harvest day, Christmas figures exposition, snowman contest, conference and exhibition of the floods in the area, exposition of small country tools, presentation of the agreement between the farmers and the restaurants, tree day, medicinal soaps workshop, exposition of medicinal soaps made with the Park herbs, Poetry reading and an exhibition by a local painter. The socio-environmental aspect which is dealt with in the Parc de Pedra Tosca project is similar to that of many periurban European areas where the boundaries between the urban structure and natural resources is poorly defined, and where a marked danger of ecological degradation exists. The solutions adopted to face the impact of urban pressure, the forces behind environmental and land degradation may be applied throughout Europe. The methodology applied in the project can be reproduced with relative ease in contexts with similar environmental conditions such as the use of traditional crops, the creation of paths and the creation of a “pictorial scenic park”. The project Parc de Pedra Tosca can be widely applied in the local boundaries as the project only encompasses 10% of the Bosc de Tosca, therefore a wider reaching project could be recreated in the area. The project could also be applicable to the rest of the eleven municipal areas which form the Natural Park of the Volcanic Area of the Garrotxa. The project has succeeded in consolidating the area as a Peri-urban park for the local citizens and in supporting sustainable tourism in the Natural Park of La Garrotxa. Finally, the continuity of the project was assured at the time of writing: the city council of Les Preses had committed to hire an agricultural worker and two guides. The Diputació de Girona (province governmental body) was to finance part of the costs for crops and the promotion of the project and further subsidies had been requested to continue the project. This project has been selected as one of the 22 "Best" LIFE Environment projects in 2006-2007