The project was born with the aim of carrying out tasks of recovery and management of the wetlands formed on the banks of the Canal de Castilla, in the Palencia region of Tierra de Campos, within the framework of the LIFE project, which is being carried out by the beneficiary entity of this action.

The project was born with the aim of carrying out tasks of recovery and management of the wetlands formed on the banks of the Canal de Castilla, in the Palencia region of Tierra de Campos, within the framework of the LIFE project, which is being carried out by the beneficiary entity of this action.

The Canal de Castilla is one of the most emblematic and ambitious hydraulic works that have been carried out in our country. It took almost a century to complete its current 207 kilometres in length, from 1753, when work began in Calahorra de Ribas (Palencia), until 1849, when work in Medina de Rioseco (Valladolid) was completed. Its route in the shape of an inverted “Y” affects 36 municipalities in the Castilian-Leonese provinces of Burgos, Palencia and Valladolid.

Declared an Asset of Cultural Interest, with the category of Historic Site, over time a series of wetlands have been formed on its margins that constitute an ecosystem of high ecological value, due to the great diversity of fauna and flora that they shelter, and that are a diversifying element of the homogeneous landscape of Tierra de Campos.

Although the Canal is a Natura 2000 Network, since most of the wetlands have been declared a Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA) and Sites of Community Interest (SCI), being at the same time included in the Regional Catalogue of Wetlands, this degree of protection has not been sufficient. Thus, the lagoons of the Canal de Castilla have an unfavourable state of conservation. Hence the desirability of an initiative like this.

Within the framework of the project, the following actions have been carried out:

• Execution of hydrological works in five lagoons for their hydrological restoration.
• Reforestation and replacement of the lagoon perimeter.
• Vegetation management.
• Maintenance of the website about the project.
• Preparation and design of a digital bulletin on the actions and development of the project.
• Preparation of interpretive and informative material on the project.
• Inventory and control of invasive alien species.
• Constant effort ringing campaign during the postnuptial passage in the El Cruce lagoon during the year 2010.
• Satellite tracking of marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus).
• Census of breeding pairs of marsh passerines in the lagoons of the Canal de Castilla.
• Habitat mapping in the lagoons that are undergoing environmental restoration actions.
• Water analysis of the lagoons.