Formação Danube4all Encerra com Passeio de Barco no Estuário do Tejo
Danube4all Training Wraps Up with a Boat Trip on the Tagus Estuary
In June, the training workshop "Learning with the territory: exploring the Tagus estuary in educational practice" wrapped up with a boat trip around Baía do Seixal, taking to the water the teachers who, since March, had been learning to look at the estuary with fresh eyes.
The initiative is part of the European project Danube4all, resulting from a partnership between the Municipality of Seixal and MARE | ARNET at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, through the CoastNet research infrastructure. This time, the teachers didn't come alone. They brought their families, and the trip became a shared experience between those who had spent the last few months learning about the estuary and developing school projects on the territory, and those at home who had been hearing about it.
The crossing was made aboard the "Baía do Seixal", a traditional Tagus vessel built in 1895 that still sails the same bay. José Lino Costa, Maria João Correia, and Vera Sequeira, from MARE/ARNET FCUL, guided the group through the waters where the Tagus is no longer quite a river but not yet the sea. José Lino Costa explained, with the ease of someone who has made this journey many times, why an estuary like the Tagus is an exception among Portuguese estuaries.
"We are in a biogeographic transition zone," he told participants, describing the simultaneous presence of Mediterranean, subtropical Atlantic, and temperate Atlantic species that converge there. "That is why we find ourselves in an area with remarkable biodiversity, often far greater than what we would expect to find at these latitudes."
Between explanations about salinity gradients and the importance of invertebrates (clams, wedge clams, worms, among others) as biological indicators, he discussed the impact of recent flooding on the Japanese clam, an invasive exotic species that, according to José Lino Costa, died in large numbers in the shallower areas of the estuary due to prolonged freshwater inflow. It was one of many stories that showed teachers and their families how the science of the estuary shifts with the tides, the floods, and the seasons.
There were also lighter moments, where science blended with stories from the participants themselves. When the topic turned to crabs, young Duarte mentioned having spotted a blue crab on a walk along the Guadiana, near Vila Real de Santo António. José Lino Costa confirmed that yes, the species has indeed reached those waters and took the opportunity to add that another exotic species, the Chinese mitten crab, has also been found in the Tagus estuary and has spread across the globe: "Australia, the Americas, everywhere. It's a real traveller," he said.
The afternoon took a different course but headed to the same destination. While the Municipality of Seixal hosted another edition of the Seixal Green Market at the Jardim da Praça dos Mártires da Liberdade, focused on the theme "Small Habits for the Climate", Danube4all and CoastNet ran their own stand with the activity "MARE by the river". Amid the eco-market, upcycled crafts and traditional games that filled the garden, researchers Ana Brito, Bernardo Quintella, Paula Chainho and Susana França welcomed families and other visitors with a range of activities for all ages: a game about sustainable seafood consumption, observation of estuary organisms and other species that serve as water quality indicators, and a board game dedicated to migratory fish species (DiadSea Project).
Between the morning boat trip and the afternoon stands, the day captured the spirit of the workshop, bringing it to a close. "Learning with the territory" broke free from the confines of formal education, and the Tagus estuary, with its tides and its often surprising biodiversity, remains a classroom without walls.
Text and photographs: Vera Sequeira and Maria João Correia