The Pals rice paddies are an important part of the diverse environments found in the Natural Park of Montgrí, Illes Medes and Baix Ter. The Pals Whistle has become a pedagogical tool for visitors to learn about the cultivation of rice, its natural environment and its historical heritage.
El Xiulet de Pals is one of the companies certified by Europarc, with the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism, within the Natural Park of Montgrí, Illes Medes and Baix Ter since the first edition, in 2018.
Obtaining this certification has helped us to improve many point of environmental sustainability, tourist quality and communication with the management bodies.
These are some of the actions that have allowed us to obtain the certification of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism (CETS):
RESTORATION OF THE OLD MILL.
This is the old room of the Pals rice mill. It was active for many years. Nowadays the mill has been modernized and this room is renovated and forms part of our small museum.
It is the first performance in which we worked inside the Pals rice mill. The old room of the rice mill is a very large space, and the restorarion, cleaning and conditioning tasks to make suitable for visitors, are carried out annually by hand and with great care during the winter months.
Among the tasks carried out, it is worth to noting the cleaning of the main room, the restoration of machinery, scales and many tools related to the mill and the rice cultivation. Once restored, they become part of the museum and are distributed in order to document a piece of this agrarian-industrial heritage.
The result is the main spot of the visit, where we can share with the people who visit us, a lot of information related to a rice mill, a pioneer in the area, and reflect on the use of water throughout history and up to the present day. You can observe how a mill is organized, reed some information panels, take phothos and discover some pieces on your own.
We are really happy and pride to be able to share all this history with everyone and see the reward for the effort to maintain all this industrial heritage. Many thanks to all those who have visited us in recently.
Interest in culture makes it possible to keep history alive and pass it on to future generations.
CLEANING OF THE MILL WATER. WASTE EXTRACTION AND HABITAT RECOVERY
Next step proposed within our line of action consisted of cleaning the irrigation canal to contribute to the recovery of the habitat of the fauna and flora of the area. With the certainty that we had to accomplish this goal, we started cleaning the rec without entering it, given that the regulations do not allow it.
We started with the extraction of scrap and waste during the month of January 2023. With rods, hooks and a sledgehammer we removed all possible rubbish from the top of the wall and from the edge of the field. We collected all the waste in a big bag (see it in the photograph), which was later taken to the rubbish dump.
The visibility of the bottom of the rec was not very good, which made it difficult to detect materials. In addition, fishing with rods or other utensils from above removed the sand from the bottom, and this further obscured visibility. Therefore, we had to stop the cleaning in order to be able to identify the objects that we had to remove.
Despite the difficulties involved in the regulations in natural spaces, but with a firm conviction that it was a necessary action, we made progress in what was within our reach. With the cleaning, we have managed to make the river a cleaner waterway, in which the fauna can make a living. This is a symbol of the salubrity and quality of the Pals mill irrigation water. If visitors pay attention, they can see turtles, fish... and even a family of otters.
INCORPORATION OF A DIGITAL GUIDE FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF BIRDS
A regular question it comes out during the rice tour is the name of some native birds of the rice fields. To make it easier to identify the birds of the Natural Park in this specific environment, we decided to create our own guide.
We selected and designed two information tables, which include the birds that can be seen most often in the rice paddies. We did it based on the information available to the Natural Park. We therefore adapted this content according to the fauna that visitors can observe during visits to the Pals rice mill.
Although the initial idea was to stick some type of sheets in each of the rows of the train in which we do the visits, due to the covid regulations and the difficulty of installing the sheets, we opted for the creation of QR codes. Thanks to these QR codes, which we placed on the front bars of the train seats, the traveler can comfortably consult the guide from his seat and via his mobile phone. The result is a comfortable and personalized consultation of the native fauna according to the interests of the visitor.
INFORMATION PANELS BY THE MAIN CANAL. NATIVE AND INVASIVE SPECIES
The next challenge we faced was how to achieve the goal of contributing to the eradication of invasive turtles. After informing ourselves and discussing the subject, we concluded that our task consists in informing and making the user aware of the risks that are often generated by the actions of people towards the flora and fauna of the environment we visit.
After coordinating several meetings, collecting a lot of information, selecting the most relevant, carefully drafting it and selecting the most significant images, we proceeded to create the graphic design of two panels, which we placed next to the mill entrance, a must-pass point during our visits.
Information panels include information about the presence of exotic turtles and other invasive species. In this way, we can inform and share knowledge with visitors so that everyone contributes to the eradication of non-native species, while offering greater knowledge of native species.
BECOME AN INFORMATION POINT OF THE NATURAL PARK
This is our information point for the Natural Park and other companies in the area committed to offering sustainable tourism. Providing information to all visitors is a service, and at the same time it is a way we have to raise awareness of the importance of taking care of this environment, including within the Natural Park.
In the photo you can see the work table, which we recovered from among the furniture of the old mill, and which is in the tasting room and sale of rice and other local products. On top of this bench we have displayed all the material, guide maps, activities, places to eat and sleep... all of them adhere to the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism.
When we finish the visit, people have time to go around the room and take a look at the material.
We encourage you to visit us, get on the Xiulet de Pals train and discover the most beautiful corners of our territory, the rice fields and the Pals rice mill.
