La Vallesa and Les Moles
The wooded areas of the Turia Natural Park within the municipalities of Paterna and La Eliana are protected zones.
La Vallesa comprises approximately 500 hectares with abundant pine trees and scrubland typical of the Mediterranean forest. Among its pines, remnants of an aqueduct, Civil War trenches, and a Bronze Age settlement (Lloma de Betxí) can still be found.
It is home to squirrels, eagles, owls, barn owls, hoopoes, frogs, toads, snakes, foxes, rabbits, and other species.
Les Moles covers an area of approximately 471 hectares of forest and agricultural land with pine forests, Mediterranean scrubland, and former carob and olive groves. The name Les Moles comes from its past as an area for quarrying rocks to make millstones. One of its areas was used as a military shooting range until the late 1990s and has recently been acquired by entrepreneur Iker Mercaide.
A shopping center was planned for Les Moles, and there was an attempt to rezone it as urban land, which was unsuccessful because local organisations coordinated their opposition.
Banning entrance to the forest on fire alerts
We ask the local councils to close all entrances to the Natural Park when there is an extreme risk of fire.
Excursions
The Botanical Garden of Valencia organizes excursions to Les Moles. If you would like to learn more about this area, check their calendar.
Shopping centre project
The Comisión de Evaluación Ambiental, which reports to the Conselleria de Agricultura y Emergencia Climática, has issued an unfavorable opinion on the Intu Mediterráneo mega-shopping center.
Teucrium edetanum
The initiative, coordinated by biologist Aurelio Peña Rivera, seeks to highlight the botanical richness of this threatened environment and to strongly justify the need for it to be a protected green space.
Coordinadora per Les Moles
The Coordinadora per Les Moles is a group of people whose objective is for Les Moles to continue being part of the Turia Natural Park.
Fundación Felisa
The Fundación Felisa's objectives are to promote children's well-being, fight poverty, and protect the environment.
They recently acquired the former shooting range in Les Moles to transform it into Felisa Park.
Project GUARDIAN
It is a forest fire defense system using reclaimed water that employs water cannons to protect thousands of residents and the La Vallesa forest.
Coordinadora en Defensa de los Bosques del Turia
They organize litter clean-up days, environmental education, and environmental volunteering.