A sower went out to sow

Through this campaign, MONTIS wants the jays to sow oak trees on their properties.

Through this campaign, MONTIS intends to develop an acorn seeding program that takes advantage of the jays' behaviour.

Jays collect and store acorns within a range of five kilometres or more. It is thought that they choose the largest and best ones, and a single jay may hide 3 to 5 thousand acorns over the period of one winter. They "forget" many of them, and when the acorns germinate, the cotyledons are used to feed the young in springtime.  They seem to choose the best spots to hide them, often without reach of humans.

We consider it especially interesting to use natural processes in order to reinforce the expansion of oak forests, drawing on the behaviour of a bird species to perform seeding in a very inexpensive way that is easy to replicate by anyone.

This is a simple technique that consists of placing acorn-filled trays in locations where one wishes to increase the number of oak trees. The trays are designed to be inaccessible to rodents and other animals. The use of the trays by the jays varies; therefore, the project includes buying some photo trapping cameras that will collect information about the conditions that appear more favourable. This campaign aims to prepare its application in all of Montis' properties by the autumn of 2018.

Beyond the actual conservation effects, Montis intends to use this technique in order to involve common people in the collection and placement of acorns in the trays, thus increasing the contact and knowledge about interactions in the natural world, demonstrating the utility of the various elements that are present in ecosystems, and the advantage of having naturalised systems that are as diverse and complex as possible.

Any money raised that exceeds the amount set for the campaign will be applied in the post-fire recovery of the Vouga-Caramulo Natural Park.

Conservation actions:

- Creation and placement of trays

- Collection and placement of acorns on trays

Direct management and training activities:

- 4 Voluntary weekends: 20 persons, 2 days, 1 night

Instalação de tabuleiro

About the author

MONTIS - Nature Conservation Association is a non-profit, Nongovernmental Organisation, operating on a national level. With a head office in Vouzela, Viseu, its core aim is to manage territories, with a special focus on conservation of natural values, and with its activity concentrated especially on the mountains that surround the Vouga river but also in other areas of the Portuguese territory. Currently, MONTIS features around 350 members, who pay an annual membership fee of 20€.

The main targets of this association include ensuring the development of natural processes, promoting the conservation of indigenous species, managing forest fires and other natural hazards in an intelligent way, increasing simultaneously biodiversity's market value.

The involvement of common people in the management of biodiversity, associated with the effort of transparency and communication, including direct verification of results, on location, by visitation, are Montis' core action mechanisms that can be greatly reinforced by the development of this type of project.

A caminho da montagem

Budget and due dates

Budget

• 10 platforms: 500 €

Includes maintenance and replacement of damaged platforms.

• 4 trapping rooms: 800 €

Includes acquisition costs, shipping costs and associated consumables.

Project management: € 660
- Includes:

• Visits to the properties under Montis management (2x per month, for 6 months), for maintenance of the platform and renovation of acorns
• Acquisition and storage of acorns;
• Maintenance of trapping rooms;
• Volunteer weekend for the collection and application of acorns (including people with disabilities without major mobility limitations).

Deadlines

19 days - 27 November to 15 December 2017
 

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