The Project

The ExplorAPPateira, project was an initiative conceived by a group of citizens, in response to the need to conserve, protect and boost a natural heritage well known and appreciated locally: the Pateira de Fermentelos.

This wetland, of high biodiversity, proves to be of great ecological importance at the local, national and international level. More than that, it preserves the history, memory and experiences of those who were born and grew up on its banks.

This project was presented to the Participatory Budget of Portugal, becoming one of its winners in the 2018 edition.

The initiative assumed as main actions to be carried out:

» the creation of a field guide that – in addition to providing support to the visitor when it comes to exploring this unique natural space, providing useful information, maps and presentation and representation of permanent tourist entertainment facilities existing in Pateira and its surroundings – aims to be a site promotion tool; also aims to make known its history, culture, and traditions, enabling and promoting a deeper look at its unique wild fauna and flora, making known more about the species that occur here and that give this place a high ecological importance,

» the development of a website and a computer application (APP)  that allows access to the information contained in the field guide in paper format, simultaneously creating an interaction between Pateira, the user and social networks through an interactive game and the receipt of alerts regarding the activities carried out in this space and the connection between the different information platforms,

» the installation of a bird observatory on the left bank of Pateira, in Fermentelos,

» other interventions in terms of structures and equipment, necessary for the conservation and preservation of Pateira.

The initiative counts on the participation and support of the Parish Unions and Parish Councils on the riverside of Pateira, the neighboring Municipalities, the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) and local institutions. The support was formalized through a protocol signed between the ICNF and the Municipality of Águeda, which assumed its implementation.

Thanks to all those
who contribute
with their best

Rui Moreto
Mónica Oliveira
Armindo Ferreira
Cláudia Rosa
Luísa Rodrigues
José Teixeira
Miguel Silva