Forests can hide many secrets, can be a double edged sword for all human beings and animals. A place where you can be born, a place where you can die, a place where you can feel alive.
In this post, I would like to talk about the biggest tree in my region, Catalonia, which is located in the Natural Park Montseny, not so far from Barcelona. Castanyer d’en Cuc (also knows as Castanyer Gros de la Casa del Bosc) belongs to the family of Spanish Chestnut trees. I had the great opportunity to discover it on excursion with my students some days before the schools were closed in March. I learnt that even in the past it used to be the home of a coal miner for year, so you can imagine how big it is inside!
The most amazing thing of the forest surrounding Castanyer de Can Cuc is its silence, as you can barely hear anything related to human activities, so basically you can hear birds or other animals. Besides that, if you go to the top of the mountain, you can see up to the city of Barcelona, and even if you are lucky and the day is clear enough, up to Mallorca!
Forests in Catalonia
Forests in my region Catalonia are about two thirds of the whole territory. You can imagine how important they are to us! I do believe forests are the lungs of our land and territory, and without them our life will be much more difficult. I am extremely glad that now thanks to the coronavirus, a part of society has discovered, or rediscovered, the forests. Nevertheless, every summer we have to be careful with the fires, as they do happen every year, and there is still quite a lot to do concerning prevention against fires. At least, Castanyer d’en Cuc is well protected, because there is a dam full of water.
Finding Freedom in the forests
When I think about forests, the first word that comes to my mind is undoubtedly freedom. I personally see it as a way to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, and to forget our daily duties. That’s why, besides the ecological factor, there is also a psychological one, at least it really heals my mind and helps me to live peacefully and blissfully.
— About the author —
Sergio Cuevas is an intrepid geographer and teacher who loves hiking and discovering new trails, cultures and above all, surprises. His dream is to make a better world, equal, clean an fair for everyone. He blogs about his mission on https://teacher-cuevas.blogspot.com/. This is his first blog post for Stories from the Wood Wide Web.
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