The Forest Path at Roques Blanques Cemetery receives the EMAS Award for 'Improvement in Environmental Performance'"

Barcelona, October 18, 2018. - The Camí del Bosc, Spain’s largest natural space for the controlled interment of ashes, located at the Cementiri Comarcal Parc de Roques Blanques (El Papiol), has been recognized by the EMAS Catalunya 2018 awards in the category of “Improvement of Environmental Behavior.” The awards ceremony, which recognizes the efforts of EMAS organizations in advancing environmental and quality standards, was presided over by Elsa Artadi, the Minister of the Presidency.

The Camí del Bosc space, designed by the Batlle i Roig Arquitectura firm, is an initiative launched last September that allows the burial of biodegradable wooden urns made from chestnut wood from Montseny along a one-kilometer stretch of forest following the edge of a path. Additionally, it is worth noting that for the large terrace accompanying the Camí del Bosc, a type of wall called a krainer was proposed—an innovative system based on bioengineering applied to the landscape.

The terrace of this new burial space is planted with specific plant species to create an aromatic environment suitable for butterfly life. For this reason, this part of the path is known as the Butterfly Garden. Moreover, the krainer wall shields against wind, one of the main enemies of these lepidoptera, and is a highly sunlit area, ensuring a generous and prolonged flowering period. In this regard, the selected vegetation is native and adapted, and has been combined to avoid competition among species while enhancing ornamental characteristics.

To encourage the presence of butterflies, shrub and herbaceous species with bright and contrasting blooms have been selected, particularly attracting these insects, with good nectar production as the primary food source for adult butterflies, as well as chewable leaves for caterpillars.

Guidance has been provided by the Museu de Ciències Naturals de Granollers, which, in collaboration with the Collserola Park, has defined the plants to be implemented to ensure compatibility with the natural environment. The project has been led by Constantí Stefanescu, Coordinator of the Lepidoptera Research Area at the Museu de Granollers, who has focused his research on the ecology and conservation of diurnal butterflies. Since 1994, he has coordinated the Catalan Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (CBMS), a biodiversity monitoring network with over a hundred stations across Catalonia, Andorra, and the Balearic Islands, where standardized data on the weekly abundance of butterfly communities is collected annually.

According to Joan Ventura, General Director of Cementiris d’Àltima, “This recognition of the work done and the persistence serves as an encouragement to continue supporting sustainable and environmentally respectful initiatives, an aspect we firmly believe in and implement at all the cemeteries where we work.” The EMAS Catalunya 2018 award adds to the Catalunya Construcció 2018 Innovation Award that the Camí del Bosc received last June.