The recovery of the “memory” of the Pouet de Campanar orchard with the rehabilitation of the Alquería del Rey complex and the Casa de Figuerols.
At the press conference held this morning at BIOPARC Valencia on the occasion of its 11 anniversary Its General Director, Luís Ángel Martínez Juez, has taken stock of recent years in data, communicated the milestones and figures for 2018 and defined 3 main lines of action for 2019.
He began by remembering that BIOPARC Valencia has established itself as a must for tourists who come to the city and during these 11 years has “left its mark” in the more than 5,5 million people from all over the world who have been able to discover some of the most beautiful and threatened landscapes in Africa and who have described it as one of the 10 best animal parks in the world. During this time Foundation has created a new concept which is already being exported to other places and which is defined as “leisure with a cause”. Special emphasis has been placed on educational visits as it is the most effective way to build the future.
And they are almost 500.000 schoolchildren that have received the “imprint of the visit” in these years and the more than 18.000 people who have visited the town of Las Jaimas in just 10 days, becoming a “must have” for family leisure at Christmas. The park's participation in Conservation projectsBoth in situ through BIOPARC Foundationas the ex situ through 48 ESBs and EEPs in which the park participates. The fact has also been cited exceptional birth of chimpanzee twins, since since 1976 only 14 cases have been documented in the world, and it is even more important because they are of the subspecies in critical danger of extinction Pan troglodytes verus.
Commitment to sustainability and the future of the planet.
In its milestones 2018 The growth of visitors has been highlighted with a total of 618.000 people, of which 58% are from outside the Community and the sustainable growth of annual passes, which consolidates the participation and involvement of society in this “project for all Valencians.” This commitment is made tangible with the +1 euro with which they collaborate, both the 36.000 holders of the B! annual pass, as well as the people who benefit from the different promotions “with a cause” and which are allocated to conservation projects for endangered species.
It has been reported that the company has ended its fiscal year with Positive EBITDA, which allows undertaking This year 2019 new projects very focused on the commitment to sustainability and the future of the planet in two main axes: elimination of single-use plastic in 100% of the kitchenware and utensils of the restaurants and their replacement with plant fiber utensils, being the first park to take this initiative and ahead of the 2021 European directive, as commented by Restaurant Manager Eduard González. And in the installation of a biomass boiler to supply, by pruning the park's vegetation, the energy to heat the facilities for the hippos, crocodiles, the Lake Tanganyika aquarium and the gorilla shelter in a self-sufficient way, without the need to use natural gas.
King's Farmhouse and the House of Figuerols.
And the most emotional and committed point with the city has been the presentation of the recovery of the heritage and social value derived from the restoration of the Alquería del Rey and Casa de Figuerols complex. The archaeologist Víctor Algarra has defined it as a project to recover the “memory” of the Pouet de Campanar orchard and return to society an intangible heritage of a town and its way of occupying a territory, taking advantage of resources in a sustainable way, building and inhabiting domestic and work spaces, living and socializing in the garden. It has been insisted that work has been underway on this project for more than 2 years and that thanks to this research work it has been discovered that lCasa Figuerols is today a unique piece in the panorama of the historical rural architecture of Valencia..
This value is conferred by its original configuration of a group of barracks that maintain their old mud adobe walls and that this type of structures, although well known popularly, in the recovery remains unprecedented and its future rehabilitation will mark a important landmark for the city. This complex, the General Director has highlighted, will have direct access through the outdoor plaza of BIOPARC and will be independent of the entrances to the company's different projects.
And already in relation to river adventure park It has been explained that, in line with excellence that characterizes the projects of Rain forest, has undergone a review in order to make it a top-level European reference. The presentation date of the new project is expected between March and summer and its approval after the summer season, maintaining its date of opening for 2021.
