On 3-4 November 2022, TREEADS consortium made a field visit at the Spanish pilot sites in the Province of Ávila, Spain. The team members had also the chance to gather for the Spanish pilot meeting which followed a local stakeholder workshop that was held in Piedralaves, a village 100km far from Ávila.
The first day began with a tour and an interesting pilot case description. The basic features of documented large fires were explained and the challenges that they created were analyzed. The places visited during the tour were Parameras, Puerto del Pico, Pedro Bernardo and Casillas. Passing through recently burnt areas was also part of the program and gave all partners a deeper insight into the Spanish realities, although it made the situation a bit more distressing. The attendees took advantage of this opportunity to observe many physical features and accurately record the varying aspects of each site. Practical real-time solutions were brought to the forefront, bridging the gap between research and practical application.
The session on November the 4th was a hybrid meeting during which the technological partners’ requirements were discussed and great things were analyzed for the development of the Spanish use case scenario. During the meeting, the project’s pilot leaders focused on the steps that are required to accomplish their goal and explored the potential risks.
One of the things that should be specially noted is that TREEADS attracted coverage in Spanish local media. A moment that should be underlined as the project was presented to a plethora of individuals and potential end-users. We would like to thank Mr. Armando García, the deputy of European Affairs Area, as well as the project coordinator, Mr. Kemal Sarp Arsava, from RISE Fire Research AS , and the leader of the project’s geospatial platform, Prof. Diego Gonzalez-Aguilera, from Universidad de Salamanca who covered the journalists’ questions about the importance of the project for the Province of Avila. Their position in relation to the project and its presentation during the interview with the local reporters was thankworthy and admirable.
At the end of the day, team building is what matters the most. As seen below, all present partners got together at the social lunch for networking and knowledge exchange in an informal setting.
We are looking back to a great meeting with lively discussions and we are very thankful to our Spanish partners from the Diputación de Ávila and Universidad de Salamanca, for hosting and organising such a great event.
