The Volterra team met with Paco Volante, creator of the biodiversity boxes, and the IRNASA team, for a maintenance session of the boxes installed last year. The experimental farms of Valdelosa and Cubo de Don Sancho were visited and a total of 14 nest boxes were checked, founding signs of birds, sleeping bats and a large number of insect chrysalises during the process.

These boxes are a great tool to stop the degradation that both farms are suffering due to pests such as Cerambyx and Coraebus. These boxes work as a biological control as they host a variety of birds, bats and insects, natural predators of these pests. In addition, they enhance the biodiversity and help in the pollination, improving the overall health of the dehesas and restoring the natural balance to the ecosystem.

The aim of the visits, besides carrying out the maintenance, was to learn from Paco Volante how and when to do it, which steps to follow and what variations there may be depending on the fauna that is inhabiting the box.

During the sessions we were able to know more about the story of Paco and the biodiversity boxes, as well as the improvements made over time in the design, being the result of continuous learning and the experience of a life time.