Completed.

20 demonstration olive groves were selected, consisting of 3,604 ha in total and distributed throughout six of the eight provinces of Andalusia: Ardachel, Siles (Jaen); Benzalá, Torredonjimeno (Jaen); Buenavista, Moraleda de Zafayona (Granada); Casa del Duque, Espejo (Cordoba); Cortijo de Guadiana I –traditional morphology-, Úbeda (Jaen); Cortijo de Guadiana II – intensive morphology -, Úbeda (Jaen); El Puerto, Pegalajar (Jaen); Finca la Torre, Bobadilla, Antequera (Malaga); Gascón, Marchena (Seville); La Tosquilla, Nueva Carteya (Cordoba); Llanos de Vanda, Castro del Río (Cordoba); Los Ojuelos, Marchena (Seville); Olivar de la Luna, Pozoblanco (Cordoba); Peña del Gallo, Puerto Serrano (Cadiz); Piedras Cucas, Torredonjimeno (Jaen); Quinta San José, Linares (Jaen); Rambla Llana, Quesada (Jaen); Rancho del Herrador, Prado del Rey (Cadiz); Virgen de los Milagros, Mancha Real (Jaen).

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Completed.

Biodiversity was estimated in the twenty demonstration olive groves and in their respective twenty control plots over a whole year. For that purpose, different bio-indicators were surveyed, and 165 species of birds (more than a quarter of the species of Spain) and 58 species of ants (one fifth of the total number of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, including Aphaenogaster gemella, a species of ant considered extinct in Spain since the 1960s) were found, 119 pollinators (in 8 of the 40 olive groves surveyed), 549 herbaceous plants and 137 woody plants (17% of the vascular flora of Andalusia and 8% of the flora of the Iberian Peninsula, including Linaria qartobensis, a plant species new to science).

The results of this action show that biodiversity in olive groves is high. However, there is a great difference between olive groves, according to the different management of the herbaceous cover and the location of the farms (i.e., whether they are included in homogeneous landscapes, dominated by olive groves and without any compensation areas, or they are part of heterogeneous landscapes), which results in the loss of up to one out of every three species.

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Completed.

The project’s corporate image was designed, implemented and outlined in an implementation manual. The project’s communication plan has been drawn up and updated, and is still being adjusted as the project progresses, in order to optimise and overcome as far as possible the expected results.

Action A3 was undertaken in a coordinated manner by the communication managers of the different entities involved in the project. Likewise, the first databases registering journalists, communicators and science writers were compiled in order to reach the target audience of the project.

Completed.

The action plans for the 20 demonstration olive groves were drawn up, and information was compiled during visits to the farms and during the study of the thematic cartography and aerial photographs. This information was cross-checked with the results obtained from action A2, and the design of the restoration actions was jointly agreed with the partners UJA-E and EEZA.

A GIS database was set up that includes all available cartographic information and develops a specific thematic cartography for each of the non-productive zones of every demonstration olive grove, as well as for the potential areas of intervention. All potential sites to undertake restoration and biodiversity recovery works were selected. For each of them, the most appropriate work or works were defined, based on the different conservation goals. Finally, the actions to be implemented during the time frame of the LIFE project were selected among all potential actions.

The preliminary conservation plans proposal was discussed with the managers of the demonstration olive groves, so that all planned interventions were explained. Over this consultation period, the suitability of the planned actions regarding any possible interference with the agricultural activities was assessed. Olive growers were also asked their opinion regarding which actions they considered to be most interesting a priori. Meetings were also very valuable to collect information on possible sites of interest for restoration, such as water points or appropriate areas for the construction of ponds, whenever these had not been identified during the cartographic study stage or the field visits. Additionally, landowners provided information on the use of buildings and irrigation ponds. Depending on their use, they might or might not have been appropriate for the implementation of conservation actions.

The main adjustments made following these enquiries concerned some of the initial proposals for the dirt roads inside the olive groves, as they interfered with machinery and with harvesting works. In such cases, all actions planned were changed or adjusted in order to avoid those issues. Some of the proposals regarding restoration of the water system were also adjusted, especially when foreseen actions were to be implemented in erosion gullies or in other areas suffering from erosion within the farming areas.

Completed.

During the first year of implementation of the project, information was collected to set up the voluntary work camps organised in the framework of Action C9.

Available accommodation in every implementation area was searched, selecting the most suitable place according to location, available facilities and the value for money. Meetings were held in order to get as competitive prices as possible.

The areas were also inspected for places of interest and activities, in order to schedule side activities in every volunteer work camp, such as visits to historical and natural sites, and olive-related visits (olive growing museums, oil mills, extra virgin olive oil tastings).

The general volunteer work programme was finished in December 2016.

Subsequently, the first call for volunteering was launched through the project’s website, the SEO/BirdLife webpage and social networks (Facebook and Twitter). Eleven different work camps were organised to take place between October 2016 and February 2017, with a total of 72 vacancies. The call was a complete success (more than 300 applications were received) and all the vacancies were filled.

By signing the land stewardship contracts, olive farmers committed to carry out a proper management of the herbaceous cover.

Throughout the project, actions seeking the improvement of biodiversity in herbaceous covers were implemented.

• Changes in the general grass cover management system. It has been suggested to end tilling and herbicide application and adopt a mechanical clearing management system.
• Shallow tillage in some of the inter-row spaces of olive groves: the seeds in the soil seed bank that would otherwise stay dormant become available for germination.
• Keeping small patches without ploughing, mowing or grazing. Species that need longer to produce their seeds can reach the final stage of their cycle and produce seeds that can disperse throughout the farm.
• Keeping agrestal weeds under some olive trees.
• Sowing native herbaceous species in the productive area of olive groves. The grass cover is enriched with groups of species that provide different ecological functions according to shortages observed in each olive grove, i.e. species used to retain soil, attract pollinators, for pest control, species of interest for birds, etc.
• Band sowing of cereals in the inter-row spaces of the olive grove. This activity was limited to a single demonstration olive grove (“extensive” Cortijo Guadiana). The farm is in an area traditionally suitable for steppe birds and this way their habitat is enhanced. These species have kept interesting populations in the area despite the widespread changes in the crops of the region.

According to each of the Action Plans, native species have been planted in twenty demonstration olive groves and in the olive grove that the project manages at the Geolit Science and Technology Park for dissemination purposes. The planting works have been carried out both at the volunteer camps and by a professional working team.

Until de middle of 2020, the following works have been carried out:

• Restoration of natural vegetation patches, with a total surface of 51,794 m². A total of 6,728 specimens have been planted.
• Revegetation of 32,301 m² of field boundaries, where 9,508 specimens of woody species have been planted.
• Sowing 7,920 linear m field boundaries with native herbaceous species.

Until the middle of 2020, restoration works had taken place over 34,756 m2 of rural road edges, where 5,410 specimens of woody species and 4,935 linear metres of seeds had been planted.

Planting has been carried out in one or more rows, depending on the width of the working area, leaving a variable distance between plants based on the soil condition and the potential size of the different species used. In accordance with the Action Plans, planting has occasionally been discontinuous, leaving non-revegetated parts in areas where planting could interfere with the agricultural work at the farm.

Restoration works in rural road edges have been carried out in most of the demonstration olive groves, with the exception of El Tobazo, Piedras Cucas, Casa del Duque, La Tosquilla and Los Ojuelos. There were several reasons for not implementing this action in the aforementioned farms: absence of internal rural roads (Los Ojuelos), incompatibility with agricultural work and regular movement of machinery, and close proximity to olive trees, which would interfere with the harvesting activity.

Until the middle of 2020, works have been carried out over 43,165 m² of surface, where 10,480 spciemens of woody species have been planted.

Planting has been adapted to the particular conditions of each working area. In this case, planting distribution has been greatly conditioned by orography, which is especially uneven in some of the gullies. Planting sites have been chosen so that digging activity will not compromise the stability of the edges or the side slopes, while allowing for the creation of a small pit for water retention. Criteria for species selection and spatial distribution contemplated not only the enhancement of biodiversity, but also the reduction of erosion.

Discontinuous revegetation has been done in some incipient gullies that go across the productive areas of the olive groves. This way, they fulfill their dual role as elements that enhance biodiversity and control erosion.

Ad hoc sowing of native herbaceous species has been carried out in four demonstration olive groves, covering 5,723 m².

Until the middle of 2020, the following works have been carried out:

Placement of nest boxes for birds. Nest boxes of different typology have been placed, most of them for passerines and small raptors. Nest boxes have been placed in areas where limited availability of nesting sites for both bird groups was found.

Placement of bat boxes. Bat boxes of two different sizes have been placed in buildings found in the demonstration olive groves and on artificial perches installed in the productive areas.

Placement of perches for birds of prey. Perches (poles) for birds of prey have been erected. These poles serve as a perch from where to scan the surrounding area in order to locate their prey, or to eat it once it’s been captured. They have been placed in areas where there are not enough tall trees for this purpose. They have also been used to place nest boxes for small birds of prey and bat boxes on them.

Building and placement of insect hotels. This restoration activity has been carried out in coordination with action A2. It has been implemented by project officers from UJA-E and EEZA (A2), volunteers (C9) and the SEO/BirdLife project officers in charge of action C5. The action had a dual purpose. On the one hand, estimating the occurrence and abundance of different insect groups, mainly solitary bees, on the basis of the insect hotel occupancy rates. On the other hand, increasing biodiversity by favouring the occurrence and abundance of these insects and thus enhancing their significant ecological roles. To this effect, and to be able to compare the results between different sampling points, each insect hotel had two identical sections (equal availability of nesting substrates, number of available holes and caliber of the holes), which were also identical to the rest of insect hotels. After the eggs had been laid, one of the sections was removed to be studied in the laboratory and identify the breeding species, while the other section has been left in the demonstration olive groves in order to increase the availability of breeding habitat for these insects.

Stone wall building. Small dry-stone walls have been built using rock materials found in the surroundings of the demonstration olive groves. Preferentially, the locations chosen were in border zones (between productive and non-productive areas), areas close to water points (which can serve as a shelter for amphibians) and plantation areas that needed protection against erosion.

Additionally, a hacking project has been carried out to release barn owls (Tyto alba), a small raptor that is facing the loss or decay of buildings suitable for breeding activity, conservation problems regarding quantity and quality of available prey, etc. To this end, an old barn in Cortijo de Conde Guadiana was adapted and thirteen barn owl chicks that had been sent from Wildlife Rescue Centres in Jaen, Seville and Madrid were released. Before being released, they had been fed and monitored with camera traps for months. Afterwards, their pellets were studied in order to continue with their monitoring.

In 2019, an old transformer in the demonstration olive grove Virgen de los Milagros, in Mancha Real (province of Jaen), was renovated and turned into a “casa de vida”. The inside space was prepared to host many nest boxes of different sizes. Barn owls, little owls and lesser kestrels sent from the Centre for the Recovery of Endangered Species in Quiebrajano (Jaen) were taken care of before their release, aimed at reinforcing their populations in that specific olive grove.

Until the middle of 2020, the following infrastructure has been placed:

Pond construction. By the end of 2019, ten ponds had been constructed in eight demonstration olive groves. Eight of the ponds have been constructed using EPDM rubber waterproof membranes, suitable for animal life. They are between 3 and 7 metres in diameter and reach a maximum depth of 50 cm. The waterproof membrane has been covered with gravel or with earth-based materials from the area in order to avoid decay and accelerate their naturalisation. The water has been supplied from the nearest available point of water supplied. A minimum water level is maintained through additional water supplies.

Two of the ponds have been constructed without waterproof membranes. They have been placed in a small temporary stream, where the water table is high for most of the year. These ponds dry up during the summer, as it happens with natural ponds: this is the time when their inhabitants adopt an array of strategies to overcome this period. Some species, mainly amphibians, bury themselves; others hide in small holes or between the stones. Many organisms adopt other forms of resistance, such as laying resistant eggs or burying themselves during quiescent periods.

Placement of water troughs. The selected water troughs are concrete blocks, about 45 cm long and 20 cm wide. They are connected to a 200 liter tank and the water supply is controlled by a float valve. They have been placed at strategic locations, far from other existing water points of the surrounding area, and close to potential bird breeding areas.

Regarding the adaptation of irrigation ponds, works are carried out at all three olive groves that have this kind of infrastructure: Cortijo de Guadiana, Virgen de los Milagros and Finca la Torre. The edges at Finca la Torre and Cortijo de Guadiana have already been revegetated (due to the characteristics of the pond, this is not possible to be done at Virgen de los Milagros), and a series of floating islands have been constructing in Cortijo de Guadiana.

During the first half of 2017, a workshop was held with researchers who specialise in olive groves and the environment. One of the objectives of the workshop was to present the empirical study so that the research could be discussed and enriched by the researchers’ reflections and contributions.

Once the company that should carry out the market research in the four countries (Spain, Germany, Denmark and United Kingdom) was selected (Análisis e Investigación), several working meetings were held with the company during the third quarter of 2017. The aims of the meetings were to validate the questionnaire, establish the criteria for selecting the sample and specify the experimental assessment of the Olive Alive guarantee mark. Finally, in October 2017 the questionnaires and the study pre-test were translated into the native language of each country. Fieldwork took place from November 2017 to January 2018, with 800 online surveys conducted in each of the potential markets of these countries.

The objective of this empirical study was twofold: on the one hand, to select the consumers’ most valued guarantee label for the marketing of the Olive Alive olive oil and, on the other hand, to study the main characteristics of the segment of consumers potentially prone to purchase the product, in order to make some considerations and issue recommendations regarding the marketing of these oils.

An innovative methodology to categorise data will be applied to complement this study and further analyse the consumer’s knowledge about nature-related problems and in particular about biodiversity. This methodology will make it possible to identify possible associations between biodiversity and other nature-related concepts or subjects that may be connected. The analysis might enrich the subsequent communication strategy and establish the messages to be disseminated. We are currently processing the data and we expect to complete the analysis in a couple of months.

In September 2018, together with the Citoliva Foundation, a seminar was organised where we could meet many of the olive growers who have been part of the LIFE project. We advised them on the olive harvest and the production of extra virgin olive oil: the best dates for harvesting, how to grind, etc.

During the first semester of 2019, CabelloxMure studio designed the logo and image of the guarantee brand that Olivares Vivos certified olive oils would bear.

A review of certification standards has been made. Additionally, a workshop will be organised, where a group of experts will advise on the decision-making process regarding general issues of the Olivares Vivos Certification Regulation (certifying body, certification stages, acknowledgement of good practices).

Once the post-operational study results are obtained, the criteria (which are already being drafted) will be defined and the Certification Regulation of Olivares Vivos olive oils will be prepared.

Furthermore, during the last quarter of 2020 work with AENOR (Spanish Association for Standardization and Certification) has been initiated to prepare the Regulation.

Completed.

The volunteer camps were organised between October 2016 and April 2018. A total of 19 out of 20 planned volunteer camps took place. The volunteer camp no. 15, which was due to take place at the olive groves of Rancho del Herrador and Peña del Gallo between 4 and 9 June, had to be cancelled as the weather conditions prevented the successful completion of the restoration works.

There were 8 volunteers in each shift, while shifts lasted between 5 and 11 days, with the exception of shifts 10 and 11, in which participants were trainee students from the University of Jaen (project partner) who had expressed their interest through the university’s Aula Verde, and carried out field work for a weekend.

The activities carried out at volunteer camps were divided into two categories: restoration works performed during the morning and complementary activities taking place in the afternoon. The environmental restoration works included planting, sowing, placing nest boxes, building stone walls and cairns, placing perches, building ponds and installing water troughs. These were complemented by afternoon activities (cultural and environmental visits).

In addition to these volunteer camps, several ad hoc volunteer activities were organised. At the first one, during several days of March 2017, insect hotels were built at the experimental garden of UJA, which were later placed in the demonstration olive groves, in the framework of actions aimed at monitoring biodiversity (A2 and D1) and conservation actions (C5).

On 21 April 2017, 50 Biology and Environmental Sciences students from UJA participated in the planation of woody plants at the demonstration olive grove of Piedras Cucas. This activity was jointly organized with the professors of Ecology and Environmental Restoration, as part of the compulsory field work in their study plans.

On Saturday, May 13, a plantation was organised in the experimental olive grove that the project has at the technology park of Geolit. Twelve volunteers collaborated in the plantation, which was comprised within the actions that replicate the restoration works carried out in the demonstration olive groves (C1-C6).

Adding all work made at both the volunteer camps and ad hoc volunteering activities, 8,138 plants have been planted and more than 120 metres of knotted fencing mesh have been placed to protect plants where wild or domestic animals could harm them. Three ponds have been built to improve the breeding success of amphibians, 14 water troughs have been placed for birds and mammals, 1,227 square metres of native grass species have been sowed, 84 nest boxes for passerines have been placed, as well as 4 nest boxes for barn owls, 14 perches for birds of prey (each of them with a nest box for barn owls or kestrels) and 12 bat boxes. Finally, 88 metres of stone walls have been built and 186 insect hotels have been made and placed.

226 volunteers have taken part in the programme, including participants in ad hoc activities.

Most of the volunteers came from Andalusia. However, volunteers were from other ten autonomous regions and ten different countries (besides Spain): Serbia, Ukraine, Italy, Belgium, Colombia, United Kingdom, Equatorial Guinea, Armenia, Brazil and Holland.

Most of the volunteer camps were evaluated by the participants through satisfaction surveys, with the exception of shifts 10 and 11: their level of satisfaction could not be known, since the survey they responded to (provided by Aula Verde –UJA) regarded their whole volunteer programme. These surveys evaluated a variety of issues (schedule, workload, accommodation, food, complementary activities, relationship with the staff, etc.) and were useful to know the participants’ opinion on the LIFE Olivares Vivos volunteer programme but, above all, to improve the aspects with the lowest scores. This seems to have been achieved, since the average score went from 8.94 in the first eight camps assessed to 9.40 in the following eight.

Between 14 and 16 February, a special volunteer camp took place at the demonstration olive groves of Benzalá and Rambla Llana, where six volunteers participated.

More information

In April 2019, fieldwork started with the monitoring of biodiversity indicators (Action D1), replicating, at the post-operational stage, all the work of Action A2. Additional biodiversity surveys were conducted to assess the effects of restoration activities. The information resulting from this sampling complemented the information of biodiversity recovery, and reported the impact of restoration activities on a small scale.

Field work was completed during the first quarter of 2020, when the data obtained began to be analysed. The final results are expected by the end of 2020.

Every olive grove manager received a questionnaire beforehand to gather information on the different farming practices that entail operating costs in each olive grove, the estimated average yields of the previous years and the estimated production costs per hectare. Furthermore, they were surveyed about their subjective impression regarding economic benefit provided by the farm.

Once the results of this preliminary work were analysed, the procedure to assess profitability changes was established.

Furthermore, additional work is being carried out in collaboration with the Universidad Carlos III of Madrid, in order to strengthen the analysis of the project’s economic and social impact.

This action began in December 2018, once the extra virgin olive oils produced in the demonstration olive farms during that season were available on the market. Since then, the compilation of the information needed to assess the impact of the OV certification on the market and to define the consumers’ degree of satisfaction has been planned. Additionally, the services of a marketing company were hired to complete the analysis of these data regarding extra virgin olive oils produced during the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons. These olive oils are already “participants” and bear the OV label.

Prior to this study, a first market research was designed in February 2019 to assess the influence of the certification brand on the behavior of extra virgin olive oil consumers in real commercialisation situations (specialised shops, online platforms and large shopping centres). The research started in May 2019 and ended in September 2019.

Bibliography is being compiled, and data are being recorded and processed in order to assess the socio-economic impact that the project is having on olive-growing villages and towns.

The analysis of the data recorded in the post-operational survey, as well as the compilation of the data for the assessment of the project’s impact on the ecosystem functions, are currently being carried out.

After the Communication Plan was completed, a press conference was held at the University of Jaen in April 2016, and the project was officially launched. This event gathered all project partners and co-financers and was covered by several media.

Different communication activities have been carried out, selecting the best tools. In a first stage, information on the project, its objectives and the problems targeted has been prepared and disseminated. Next, communication has focused on conveying what is being done (project actions) both to stakeholders and the general public. Finally, information is being prepared to disseminate the first results. Similarly, a dossier on the Project was published in Spanish and English to complement the information given to the media.

To date, 15 press releases have been prepared and distributed. Moreover, the Olivares Vivos website already includes 92 original news items and 42 html electronic newsletters. In addition, five news capsules have been published and 13 informative videos have been produced, for example.

Furthermore, dissemination activities through the partners’ different channels have begun. To this regard, the project has been the focus of two articles in “Aves y Naturaleza” magazine, which is handed out by SEO/BirdLife to all of its 14.000 members and to many renowned stakeholders of the environmental sphere. Several news reports and periodic newsletters have been published in the website of the organisation –which has more than a million visits per year. Similarly, pieces of information have been published through the partners’ own channels (UJA, EEZA-CSIC and DIPUJAEN).

The partners have set up a coordinated system to deal with all the spontaneous requests of project-related information made by the media. Furthermore, they have designed an internal communication protocol to promote dissemination. Accordingly, the presence of the project in the press is being monitored. The dissemination work has had a remarkable impact on media such as the regional public TV channel Canal Sur, newspapers Diario Jaén, La Vanguardia, 20 Minutos, Ideal, the news agency EFE and the national public radio Cadena SER and television RTVE. In April 2019, a press visit was arranged to introduce different journalists to the project.

This communication work has reached a potential audience of over four million people. Had the contents been of advertising nature, it would have entailed an investment of nearly 58 million euros.

Likewise, dissemination on social networks (Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or Linkedin) started, achieving a clear rate of growth of interactions and number of followers. For example, the total number of followers in Twitter is now over 2,900.

In addition, the project has been presented and discussed at the communicators meeting of BirdLife Europe Federation, comprised by every SEO/BirdLife’s partner organisation in the EU member states. Work is being done to open new channels for collaboration and promote the dissemination of the project in other countries, as well as to establish synergies with other ongoing initiatives.

The project has also been presented at fairs and national and international sectoral meetings, notably at Expoliva 2017 (when the project was presented to media), Expoliva 2019, Olivo de Montoro Fair, Futuroliva and OleoCarteya.

Similarly, we have attended numerous events to present the results of the project, including the COP25 held in Madrid, the Terra Madre Fair (Turin, Italy), the Spanish National Environmental Congress (Conama local) organised in Toledo, the EEZA Scientific Marathon or the 24^th Spanish and 7^th Iberian Ornithology Congress, among others.

Finally, different activities for the general public have been planned to celebrate the European Natura 2000 Day or the Bird Day. Workshops have been carried out for children at Expoliva and volunteering has also been organised to support the project “Libera, nature without litter”.

As regards preparation and design of promotional material, the following items have been designed and produced:

• 5 general roll-up banners on the project
• 1 photocall (4×3 m)
• 2 roll-up banners on the school campaign
• 2 roll-up on the publication of «Good ‘bad’ weeds in the olive groves».
• T-shirts
• Olivares Vivos hats
• Type 1 Pen
• Type 2 Pen
• “LIFE project summary” leaflet
• “LIFE project summary” leaflet in English
• “LIFE project summary” leaflet in Italian
• “Results preview June 2017” leaflet
• “Results preview December 2017” leaflet
• “Results preview June 2018” leaflet
• “Results preview December 2018” leaflet
• Summary brochure of the project in Spanish
• Summary brochure of the project in English
• Summary brochure of the project in French
• Volunteer campaign brochure
• Volunteer campaign brochure
• Final report on volunteer work camps
• Publication of «Good ‘bad’ weeds in the olive groves»
• Inventory of native plants and seeds used in restoration
• Calendars 2019 and 2020
• “The secrets of the olive grove” scavenger hunt
• Press kit in Spanish and in English
• Press cuttings (until November 2019)
• Olivares Vivos Stand

Completed.

A notice board was installed at the entrance of every demonstration olive grove, as well as in the olive grove that the project manages at the Geolit Science and Technology Park for dissemination purposes

This action comprises two different activities: on the one hand, surveys aimed at measuring the general perception of the project and its objectives by the olive sector and, on the other hand, information and demonstration actions targeting the olive oil sector.

Regarding perception surveys, a search for companies specialised in conducting public opinion surveys was undertaken; they should also be acquainted and have experience with the olive sector. Interviews were conducted in six of the eight Andalusian provinces: Jaen, Granada, Cordoba, Seville, Malaga and Almeria, over a six-week period (from 13 February to 30 March 2017). A total of 640 surveys were completed in 88 municipalities.

The results obtained have provided information that will be compared with the data collected in the final stage of the project, mainly as to what extent the sector is aware of the project. Results also show the olive growers’ perception of the environmental problems of the olive grove, as well as their willingness to adopt changes regarding certain aspects of farm management in different scenarios.

Click here to see the results

Regarding informative and demonstrative actions, 400 requests for advice have been received on how to adopt measures to increase biodiversity in their farms beyond the project. In this respect, an olive grove for dissemination purposes was created at the facilities of Geolit Technological Park, where the main actions carried out in the demonstration olive groves are replicated.

Given this interest, in February 2019 an information day was held at the Technological Park Geolit, and interested olive growers were invited. The 50 farmers who attended this event received information about the project progress and were given the opportunity to raise their questions.

Additionally, the special interest in the project contents shown by other training programmes has led to several fruitful collaborations. In this respect, several sessions have been organised with the Agroecology Resource Centre of the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development. A collaboration agreement has also been established with the Andalusian Institute of Agricultural and Fisheries Research and Training (IFAPA), to include specific contents in the framework of the olive farming courses. In total, we were involved in 9 courses in 2018 and in 5 courses in 2019, reaching 350 olive growers.

Similarly, we have been invited to participate in several workshops planned by different entities such as the “No solo olivos” association, the municipality of Cabra (Cordoba), the Protected Designation of Origin of the Olive Oil produced in Mallorca, APAEMA (the Organic Farmers Association of Majorca) and ASAJA- Seville (the Young Farmers’ Agricultural Association of Seville).

Four regions were selected where this action is being carried out. In order to optimise the demonstration value and the dissemination of the results, the selection criteria focused on: 1) achieving the highest possible representativeness of the olive grove landscape in the study area, 2) the proximity to the demonstration olive groves selected in action A1, and 3) the existence of previous interventions or local initiatives in the municipality related to the objectives of this action.

A search and a compilation of information on rural culture related to olive growing were carried out in each region as planned. People and associations from every region were contacted, and they provided firsthand information on traditional labour, harvesting, crafts, folklore, biodiversity and other aspects regarding multifunctionality of the traditional olive growing activity. This information is comprised in the Guide “Sources of knowledge of the olive growing traditional culture” and it has been key to defining the contents of the teaching booklet and to suggesting new ideas for oleotourism activities (E8).

Additionally, “Olivares Vivos, a very close adventure” was drawn up. The booklet is made up of four chapters (history, farming, biodiversity and culture) and the learning process is led by two characters: Olivio, a child who comes from the past and got to know the biodiversity and multifunctionality of the olive grove in their whole extent, and H-Tuna, a very modern olive who dreams of becoming a great extra virgin olive oil gourmet. Throughout the unit, they discuss the differences between the olive groves of the past and the present, concluding that the future olive groves will generate services to the community and provide quality products with high added value. The contents have been revised by many teachers and schoolchildren, and their final assessment has been very positive. The broad experience and great dissemination capacity of the partner DIPUJAEN in school campaigns related to the environment has been essential for the implementation of this action.

After establishing the contents and preparing the teaching booklet, the school campaign “Stories of the Olive Grove” has been launched. An intense effort to contact the schools of the selected regions has been necessary. Information on the LIFE programme, the project and its objectives, as well as on the contents to be taught has been provided.

During the school year 2017/2018, 24 school visits were arranged, with 51 teaching sessions and approximately 1,275 schoolchildren. Next year, in 2018/2019, 26 schools of 27 municipalities were visited, with 64 training sessions for almost 1,500 children. During the last 2019/2020 school year, more schools have been attended. Additionally, another activity was launched, based on a story-telling about biodiversity in the olive groves and addressed to schoolchildren of 3 up to 5 years old. This activity was carried out in two schools of the region of Jaen. In total, the school campaign has been developed in 46 educational centres from 37 municipalities of 4 provinces in Andalusia.

This school campaign has been completed with visits to the demonstration olive groves where children played the scavenger hunt “The secrets of olive groves”, designed by the project. Over the last few years, five of these have been organised, with the participation of approximately 250 schoolchildren from nursery, primary and secondary schools.

In addition to the school campaigns foreseen by the project, the implementation of this action has been useful to introduce the educational objectives of Olivares Vivos project in other local school campaigns and outside of the LIFE programme. For example, the 3^rd School Week of the Oil and its Worlds (https://goo.gl/85WbhS, in Spanish) was carried out by the partner DIPUJAEN with its own resources and in collaboration with the Andalusian Regional Government. The 19^th Environmental Prize, also organised by DIPUJAEN, and which was dedicated to olive groves and their biodiversity in 2018, was inspired by the Olivares Vivos LIFE project. The Project team was also requested to participate in the 1^st School Science Conference on Olive Growing and Extra Virgin Olive Oil Culture (https://goo.gl/XuMvvk, in Spanish), an initiative promoted by the production company Tekiero Verde and organised by the Municipality of Ubeda. Likewise, workshops have been carried out in different municipalities such as Torredonjimeno, Villanueva de la Reina or Martos, in the region of Jaen.

On November 2017, a first training session was held with the teachers in charge of guiding the students’ work. The students subsequently presented the results of their research in May 2018.

Furthermore, very useful training materials that were not initially foreseen by action E4 have been designed (for example, the scavenger hunt “The secrets of the olive groves” or the publication “Goods ‘bad’ weeds in the olive groves”) and the 1^st Olivares Vivos photography prize has been awarded.

Regarding the audio-visual product planned within this action, a production company has been hired.

After completing the data collection of the post-operational study and their analysis, the writing of this Guide will start. The general outline of the guide is currently being drafted.

Given that BirdLife Europe holds a seat in the “Olives” Civil Dialogue Group of the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development (CDG Olives), we have been given the chance to fill that seat. This way, we have attended these meetings since May 2016. The project was presented to CDG Olives at the meeting held in May 2017. The presentation aroused the interest of several representatives of the European organisations of the sector, who considered it an important alternative for the differentiation of certain olive groves in the olive market.

A first proposal of recommendations for the post-2020 CAP was presented in May 2019 at the International Conference “The CAP Green Architecture: deeping into eco-schemes”, which we attended at the invitation of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and where we delivered the communication: “LIFE OV: key aspects for the design of eco-schemes in the olive grove”. This Congress was attended by the Director of Natural Capital, DG Environment of the European Commission and the Director of Strategy, Simplification and Policy Analysis,  Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission (a report on these proposals was submitted together with the mid-term report to the EASME). The lessons learned so far have also been used to bring our experience to the Forum “Synergies between the LIFE programme and the EAFRD rural development programmes”, organised in March 2019 by the Ministry for Ecological Transition of the Spanish Government. We also have been promoting the replication of these results through our participation in the drafting of the Andalusian Regional Government’s Ecological Connectivity Master Plan and the draft Order approving regulatory bases for supporting non-productive investments for the conservation of biodiversity in agricultural areas (PRD Junta de Andalucía).

The progress of the recommendations issued for the design of the post-2020 CAP regarding olive farming can be consulted in this link https://olivaresvivos.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Recomendaciones_Spa.pdf. In English: https://olivaresvivos.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/CAPRecommendations.pdf  

In an initial phase of the action, the mechanism to set up the Olive Alive Municipalities Network (REMOV) was established and a proposal for a “Manifesto of Accession to the REMOV” was sent to all 97 municipalities of the province of Jaen.

The presentation of the REMOV took place on 17 January 2017. All interested authorities signed the manifesto and the event had a major impact on the media and gathered a high number of local and regional public representatives. The network is currently made up of 57 municipalities of the province of Jaen.

Throughout 2017, several talks were held in some of the municipalities of the network. The details of the Olivares Vivos project and the importance of joining the REMOV were explained.

The contents of Olivares Vivos were also included in several workshops of the programme “Recrea en Verde” (“Entertain yourself in green”, https://goo.gl/TAo3US). One of the workshops (“Olivares Vivos”) dealt specifically with the project, although other contents of the project were also taught in workshops such as “Our oil and its nature”, “Biodiversity and birds of prey” and “Beekeeping”. These workshops were addressed to any interested sector of the population.

The drawing contest “Draw you living olive grove” has been organised for all schoolchildren in the last two years of primary education in any of the 57 REMOV municipalities.

The contest “Draw your own living olive grove” was launched both in 2018 and 2019, being addressed to all third-cycle primary schoolchildren in the 57 municipalities of the REMOV.

A plaque has also been designed so that the different municipalities can show their REMOV membership and it was delivered on the one-day event that commemorated the constitution of the Network. 60 majors and councillors attended the event, where different issues related to the added value of olive oil were addressed, and the Network was opened to other Andalusian regions, and municipalities such as Baza (Granada), Cabra (Cordoba) and Cuevas de Becerro (Malaga) joined the initiative.

In addition to this, the storytelling contest “#QuédateEnElNido: las historias del campo y del olivar” (#StayInYourNest: stories of the countryside and the olive groves) was held during the lockdown of spring of 2020; schoolchildren from all over Spain took part in it. Different prizes were awarded and the Regional Council of Jaen has printed a book with the awarded stories.

This action began with preliminary meetings held by the project coordinator and project officers (DIPUJAEN and SEO/BirdLife) with the tourism authorities of the partner DIPUJAEN. The Provincial Government of Jaen is the public administration that best knows oleotourism, as it is the most experienced thanks to the programme “Oleotur”. Following these first meetings, other work meetings took place involving project officers, tour operators and officers of the Department of Tourism of the Provincial Government, including the officer in charge of “Oleotur”. The most relevant conclusions of this preliminary work were, on the one hand, that biodiversity was nowhere to be found in the tourist packages offered so far and, on the other hand, it could thus be a major asset to boost oleotourism.

Following this line of work, a tourist package called Olivares Vivos was designed and a first brochure was published. The tourist package was to be tested in one of the demonstration olive groves at the beginning of 2019, but it had to be cancelled, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, for the time being, several tests of innovative experiences on natural heritage have been prepared to make these tourist packages attractive. In the first one, the activity “The oil of the stars” was assessed in collaboration with the company “Astroandalus”. This activity combines a tasting of top quality oils with the nocturnal environment of the olive grove and stargazing. This first experience took place in a demonstration olive grove and was enjoyed by the project officers and volunteers, who were very positive about it.

To date, the following contributions have been done:

• Organisation of the scientific workshop on the Profitability of the Olive Plantations. April 2016. University of Jaen.
• Conference: “Olive Alive: Towards the design and certification of biodiversity friendly olive groves” [in Spanish]. III International Bird Fair of Doñana. 22-24 April 2016. Seville.
• Conference: “LIFE Olive Alive: Technical and Scientific aspects of the diagnosis and restoration of biodiversity in olive plantations” [in Spanish]. Futuroliva. 2-4 June 2016. Baeza (Jaen).
• Conference: “Olive plantations, biodiversity and landscape: towards a new environmentally sustainable olive growing model” [in Spanish]. III Technical sessions of the Cooperative Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación. 4-5 November 2016. Peal de Becerro (Jaen).
• Roundtable: “Challenges and opportunities of the mountain olive orchards” [in Spanish]. II Days “Mundo Rural”. Rural Mediterránea Association. 7-9 July 2016. Puente Génave (Jaen).
• Lecture: “LIFE Olive Alive for the restoration of biodiversity in olive groves of Andalusia” [in Spanish], and participation in the roundtable “Fostering biodiversity and profitability in olive groves” [in Spanish]. Session on biodiversity in the olive grove, Peñallana Visitor Centre, Andujar, 12 February 2017.
• Oral presentation: “LIFE Olive Alive. Increasing profitability of the olive grove by restoring biodiversity. Preliminary results” [in Spanish]. Expoliva 2017. Jaen, 12 May 2017,
• “Assessing flora and fauna biodiversity of the olive landscapes of Andalousia” [in Spanish]. Scientific presentations at Expoliva Scientific and Technical Symposium 2017. Jaen, 10-12 May 2017. Pedro J. Rey, Francisco Valera, Antonio J. Manzaneda, Julio M. Alcántara, José L. Molina, Rubén Tarifa, Jorge Isla, Teresa Salido, Carlos Ruiz and José E. Gutiérrez.
• Poster: “LIFE Olivares Vivos: bringing biodiversity back to olive groves”. LIFE Platform meeting on ecosystem services “Costing the Earth? – translating the ecosystem services concept into practical decision making”. Tallin Estonia, 10-12 May 2017.
• Lecture: “Olive Alive: fostering biodiversity and improving profitability of the olive grove” [in Spanish], at the workshop on best practice in Corporate Social Responsibility “Giving life to Natura 2000 Network”. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 19 May 2017.
• Roundtable: “Organic olive farming (+). An environmental, social and health value” [in Spanish]. Biosegura 2017, 21 June 2017.
• Oral presentation: “Olive Alive: Toward the design and certification of biodiversity friendly olive groves”. Climate Changing Agriculture International Conference. Chania, Crete (Greece), 29 August – 2 September 2017. José E. Gutiérrez, Carlos Ruiz, María Cano, Pedro J. Rey, Eva M. Murgado, Francisco Valera and Sonia Bermúdez.
• Oral presentation: “Assessing biodiversity and its ecosystem services in Andalusian olive orchards through the landscape moderation hypothesis approach”. Climate Changing Agriculture International Conference. Chania, Crete (Greece), 29 August – 2 September 2017. Pedro J. Rey, Francisco Valera, Antonio J. Manzaneda, Julio M. Alcántara, José L. Molina-Pardo, Rubén Tarifa, Jorge Isla, Teresa Salido, Gemma Calvo, Carlos Martínez-Núñez, Carlos Ruiz y José E. Gutiérrez.
• Organisation of the Scientific seminar “Assessment, conservation and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem services provided by fauna in Iberian tree-based agrosystems. Experiences from the Andalusian olive grove and the Asturian apple orchards”. University of Jaén, 19 September 2017. Oral presentations “Effects of the landscape complexity gradients and farming practices on animal biodiversity and its ecosystem services on the olive grove agrosystem of Andalusia” [in Spanish]. Pedro J. Rey, and “Olive Alive. Methodology and preliminary results” [in Spanish]. Carlos Ruiz. Participation at the roundtable on the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem services on the production models of tree crops.
• Lecture: “The LIFE Olive Alive project: improving profitability by restoring biodiversity” [in Spanish]. 13th Scientific Marathon of the Experimental Station of Arid Zones. 6 October 2017. Almeria.
• Lecture: “Olive Alive” [in Spanish]. “Oil and its nature” course. Villacarrillo, 11 October 2017.
• Lecture: “Olive Alive” [in Spanish]. Traditional Mountain Olive Grove Days. SCA San Francisco. Villanueva del Arzobispo, Jaen, 17 October 2017.
• Poster: “LIFE Olive Alive. An innovative strategy for the restoration of biodiversity in the olive grove through the improvement of profitability” [in Spanish]. 23rd Spanish Ornithological Conference. Badajoz, 2 – 5 November 2017. José E. Gutiérrez, Carlos Ruiz, Pedro J. Rey, Francisco Valera, Eva M. Murgado and Sonia Bermúdez.
• Oral presentation “Exploring the hypothesis of landscape moderation of biodiversity patterns and processes in stable tree crops: the case of Andalusian olive groves” [in Spanish]. 23rd Spanish Ornithological Conference. Badajoz, 2 – 5 November 2017. Pedro J. Rey, Rubén Tarifa, José L. Molina, Francisco Valera, Teresa Salido, Jorge Isla and José E. Gutiérrez.
• Lecture: “Olive Alive” [in Spanish]. CienciaJazz, science talks at Clasijazz. Almeria, 9 Novembre 2017.
• Workshop: “Restore the fauna in your town and revive the olive grove” [in Spanish]. Science Week. Experimental Station of Arid Zones, Almería, November 2017.
• Science café: “Green infrastructure for citizens: increasing biodiversity in our immediate environment” [in Spanish]. Science Week. Experimental Station of Arid Zones, Almeria, November 2017.
• Oral presentation: “Ants as biological indicators in Andalusian olive groves: a test of the hypothesis of landscape moderation of biodiversity patterns in stable tree crops” [in Spanish]. 33rd Scientific Days of the Spanish Entomological Association. Almería, 14-17 November 2017. Teresa Salido, Jorge Isla, Antonio J. Manzaneda, José Luis Molina-Pardo, Gemma Calvo, Rubén Tarifa, Francisco Camacho, Julio M. Alcántara, Francisco Valera and Pedro J. Rey.
• Article: “The Andalusian olive grove: a humanized forest?” [in Spanish]. Aldaba Magazine (in press). Pedro J.Rey, José Eugenio Gutiérrez, Francisco Valera, Carlos Ruiz.

In September, within the framework of actions E9 and F5 (Networking with other LIFE conservation and olive-grove related projects) and with the collaboration of AGRABIES project (National R&D&I Plan, Challenges Call 2015), a scientific seminar was organised on “Assessment, conservation and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem services provided by fauna in Iberian tree-based agrosystems. Experiences from the Andalusian olive groves and the Asturian apple orchards”. Representatives of the organisations in charge of both AGRABIES and Olivares Vivos projects attended the seminar, as well as several other experts from an array of initiatives. The meeting ended with a roundtable that hosted experts from the different sectors involved: the public administration, research, agricultural and environmental institutions, producers and other organisations involved in the projects that coordinated the seminar.

Also in combination with action F5, a team travelled to Crete (Greece) in order to attend the Climate Changing Agriculture International Conference and visit and get to know a variety of conservation projects linked to the olive grove. At the conference, two oral presentations were delivered (see above) and one of the scientific sessions, focused on environmental certification, was chaired.

The routes can be viewed and downloaded directly from a website with a mobile-responsive design, so that there is no need to install any specific application. The website displays a menu that provides access to the routes, the real-time map with the user’s location, the route layout and the different highlights. By clicking on the highlights, information is displayed as a text and the option to hear it is also available, like an audio-guide (www.rutasolivaresvivos.com)

Regarding the first three routes designed, three demonstration olive groves were selected: “Virgen de los Milagros” and “Cortijo Guadiana”, both located in Jaen, and “Finca La Torre”, in Malaga. These olive groves were selected not only for their natural and scenic values, but also for their proximity to places of tourist interest such as Jaen (“Virgen de los Milagros”), Ubeda and Baeza (“Virgen de los Milagros” and “Cortijo Guadiana”) and Antequera, close to Malaga (“Finca la Torre”).

Later on, additional routes have been designed in Ardachel (Siles, Jaen), “El Tobazo” (Alcaudete, Jaen), “El Puerto” (Pegalajar, Jaen), “Casa del Duque” (Espejo, Cordoba), “Gascón” (Marchena, Seville) and “La Tosquilla” (Nueva Carteya, Cordoba).

The website offers general information on the project and the problems it addresses, and detailed information on the current development of the project. Informative and dynamic pieces of news and web articles are published, such as “Seen at the olive grove”, which provides examples of the biodiversity found in the farms that participate in the project. Olive growers who wish to be part of Olivares Vivos have also a dedicated space on the website and a contact form is also provided so they can be contacted.

Once the analysis of the data from the post-operational study has been completed, the conclusions will be used to draw up this guide. The contents of the guide are currently being discussed.

Ongoing.

Immediately after the signing of the Grant Agreement, the project was thoroughly reviewed and the most relevant activities and the approved budget were shared with all partners. Agreements between partners and co-financing agreements with the “Patrimonio Comunal Olivarero” Foundation and the Spanish Olive Oil Interprofessional organisation were also processed.

An organisational chart was established to handle the LIFE programme management. The chart was approved by all the partners during the second coordination meeting.

To date, many coordination meetings have been held. In total, four general coordination meetings and more than forty meetings between SEO, UJA-E and EEZA, between SEO, UJA-E and UJA-M and bilateral meetings between SEO and the rest of the partners have been held. Similarly, there have been meetings with the co-financers, including the delivery of a report on the progress of the project, which was presented on 12 January 2018 at the HQ of the Spanish Olive Oil Interprofessional organisation and was very well appreciated by the board of directors.

Indicators were jointly defined among partners to assess the progress of each action. A review date was scheduled for every indicator and, where appropriate, expected results were established.

The indicator system and the review programme that have been defined are currently enabling us to achieve the objectives of this action. Furthermore, the monitoring of the indicators allows for regular updating of the project results and is extremely useful in the communication strategy.

A preliminary search was conducted to find projects and initiatives related to the objectives of Olivares Vivos LIFE project. This work was aimed at identifying both project results and lessons learnt that could help to optimise the project’s actions, as well as establishing synergies to increase its demonstration value and replicability. The database of funded LIFE projects was examined, with particular focus on those projects regarding the protection of biodiversity in agrosystems. The objectives and results of three of them were reviewed: LIFE07 NAT/ IT/000450 –Centolimed-; LIFE06 NAT/P/00019 -Lince Moura/Barros- and LIFE03 NAT/E/000052 – Albuera Extremadura-. All these projects worked on the enhancement of biodiversity in olive groves and implemented some restoration measures and some of them had already been reviewed during the preparation stage of the proposal. The study of these projects shows that, although the approach to biodiversity measurement in Olive Alive LIFE project is original, differentiated and addressed towards the achievement of very specific objectives, results obtained and lessons learnt, as well as the methodological approaches, were useful as a reference to compare results. This comparison will improve the demonstration value of the project and optimise the outline and development of the preparation and conservation actions.

The projects funded by the research and innovation programme (FP7, the current Horizon 2020) were reviewed using the European Commission’s portal CORDIS (Community Research and Development Information Service). As a result, several projects were identified, both finished and ongoing (AGFORWARD; OLITREVA, OVIPE; ENVIEVAL; GEOLAND), and more detailed information on their results has been compiled while, if they are still under implementation, their development is being followed.

Subsequently, other projects have been contacted, sometimes after a search for projects focused on a specific subject and other times after coming across them in different media.

OLIVE4CLIMATE LIFE project (LIFE15 CCM/IT/000141). Contact was established with the manager of the project, in order to cross-check the planned objectives in greater detail and to design the collaboration in the dissemination of results.

Commonland (www.commonland.com). We have established contact with the people in charge of the restoration project in the “Altiplano estepario” (steppe plateau) in southern Spain, and we keep in touch to exchange relevant information.

FIRE Foundation (www.fundacionfire.org). Our collaboration involves sharing information but also cooperating in the project “Sustentándonos” (“Sustaining ourselves”), funded through the “Emplea Verde” (Green Employment) programme of the Fundación Biodiversidad. The project includes courses on farm adaptation for more profitable and environmentally sustainable farming models. Several of the field visits planned took place in our demonstration olive groves. The courses were scheduled during the spring of 2018 in Almeria, Granada, Cordoba and Jaen.

LANDS CARE (www.landscare.org). Contact with this initiative was made during the drafting of the proposal and the early stages of the implementation of the project. The purpose was to collaborate in the development of an app regarding the self-guided routes of action E10. The work has not progressed according to the initial idea nor to the requirements of the project, so the decision has been made to develop the application independently. However, we still keep in touch and we’ll consider the possibility of integrating both apps if functionality is finally proved.

Spanish Association of Conservation Agriculture (www.agriculturadeconservacion.org). This organisation is our partner in the (Regional) Operational Group on grass covers. As such, their support in the demonstrative sessions that took place during the years 4 and 5 of the project within the framework of action E3 has been discussed.

Iberian Society for the Study and Conservation of Ecosystems (SIECE) (www.siece.org). We are in constant contact and collaborate in the release of barn owls (Tyto alba) through hacking at “Cortijo Guadiana” demonstration olive grove, which were scheduled during the spring of 2018, 2019 and 2020. A collaboration has been established for the placement of nest boxes for lesser kestrels, as well as for the subsequent adaptation of certain infrastructures in the demonstration olive groves. Both actions are included in action C5.

Endangered Species Rehabilitation Centres (CREAs) of Andalusia. In May 2017, the request was made for newly admitted barn owl chicks to be assigned to the release programme previously described. Although the request was accepted, no release was made in the end, as the chicks happened to be already fledged juveniles: the hacking process requires younger individuals that will stay in the hack box for several days. An extension of the agreement was requested on January 16, in order to have the admitted chicks during the spring of 2018.

Native Wildlife and Habitat Rehabilitation Group (GREFA). A collaboration agreement is was signed, establishing GREFA’s commitment to give up captive bred barn owl chicks (born to individuals that are not able to survive in the wild). In the framework of action C5, the project released them through hacking. This action has drawn attention to the decay of rural infrastructure associated to the olive grove, and disseminate information on the adaptation measures that can be implemented in buildings.

Coordinating organisation of farmers’ and livestock breeders’ professional organisations (COAG) – FEAL Project. This is an ERASMUS+ funded project that showcases examples of successful projects regarding European agricultural landscapes. We provided information on some of the Olivares Vivos farms to one of the partner organisations. This information was compiled to be featured as a study case in the meeting held in the framework of the project in Naklo (Slovenia) on 12-14 November 2017.

Food Standards Initiative and Biodiversity Standards and Lables for the Food industry LIFE project. This project promotes the inclusion of biodiversity criteria in seals, standards and certifications of the agri-food sector. We therefore held a meeting with Amanda del Río, a project manager in Fundación Global Nature who is in charge of the project in Spain. She gave us information about the work they’ve done analysing a large number of certification standards, among which 54 were thoroughly studied in order to assess the way each one of them promotes biodiversity protection. There is a commitment to inform and advise each other on certification (Food Standards) and biodiversity (Olivares Vivos) issues.

Macrotour. A collaboration has been established with this company, that specialises in the design and management of tourist packages and the organisation of events. They provided us advice on tourist packages (action E8) and assistance in the joint creation of a tourist package that was offered in the framework of this action.

Astroándalus. It is an astro-tourism enterprise that also certifies areas with favourable conditions for stargazing as “Starlight Reserves”. We are collaborating in the design of some of the activities included in the tourist packages that were tested in the framework of action E8.

Andalusian Institute of Agricultural and Fisheries Research and Training (IFAPA). A collaboration has been established to participate in the agri-food training courses that focus on olive farming. Action E3 describes the collaboration framework and the expected results.

Agroecology Resource Centre of the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development. There is currently a collaboration established to jointly organise informative sessions for farmers. The first of these sessions was held in March 2018. Action E3 describes this activity in detail.

Aula verde (“Green Classroom”) of the University of Jaen. It is an instrument of the Ecocampus project, which raises awareness among the University community and fosters new behaviours that are more environmentally sustainable. They are helping with the dissemination of the project activities, mainly volunteer activities. In addition, specific volunteer activities for Aula Verde have been designed

Technological Park GEOLIT. The park has transferred an olive grove to the project that is being used for dissemination purposes (see action A1). Furthermore, the main office and the warehouse of the project are located here, also under a transfer system. Thanks to our presence in GEOLIT, we are in permanent contact with different institutions whose HQ are also in the Park. Many of them are linked to olive farming, and we exchange information and occasionally collaborate with them: CITOLIVA Foundation, the plant health laboratory of the Regional Government, the Terra Oleum Museum, the IFAPA, etc.

Fundación del Olivar (Olive Grove Foundation) and Terra Oleum Museum. We collaborate with the Terra Oleum Museum, which is managed by Fundación del Olivar. As a result, we have given lectures to student groups visiting the museum, thus combining the visit with some of the lectures planned in the framework of action E4. Furthermore, the project volunteers who worked with us in the province of Jaen have also visited the museum getting a discount and an exclusive guided tour.

1st School Science Conference of Ubeda. A collaboration was established with the institutions in charge of the organisation (the local council of Ubeda and Te Kiero Verde, a private company). During the pre-conference activities, secondary schools taking part in the conference visited the experimental olive grove that Olivares Vivos has in the surroundings of the Geolit office. They were also given a lecture on olive farming, its environmental impacts and the Olive Alive project. Action E4 provides further information on the subject.

NASSTEC Project (http://nasstec.eu). We participated in the programme’s annual meeting, which took place in Cordoba between January 31 and the February 3, 2017. We keep in touch with Semillas Silvestres SL, a partner of the project that has been advising us on the use of native herbaceous seeds.

LIFE bioDehesa. Networking with this LIFE project started with a meeting held at the Animal Production Department of the University of Córdoba on 16 January 2018, with both projects’ managers and several officers. The goal of this work meeting was to share the indicators used in bioDehesa and Olive Alive LIFE projects to measure biodiversity (Annex F5-1). An article in an environmental magazine was prepared to disseminate the results of this collaboration. Both projects are working on the development and measurement of biodiversity indicators in the participating farms, keeping in contact and working jointly to integrate these insights into the results reports.

Terra Vida. This company has provided us with its product “Terracottem”, free of charge. “Terracottem” is a soil conditioner that makes the survival of seedlings easier, improving the use of soil water through water-absorbent polymers. The product has been selectively used in some plantings, using a scientific sampling, so that Terra Vida, in return, has obtained comparative data between plantings where the product has been used and those where it hasn’t, where planting has been done in similar conditions and in the same locations.

LUSH Ltd. It’s a cosmetics company that, in the framework of an environmental and social responsibility policy, selects its suppliers with strict environmental criteria. They got in touch with the coordinating partner SEO/BirdLife and asked for extra virgin olive oil suppliers to elaborate their products. Requirements were that the olive oil should be the product of organic farming, cooperative-based if possible, and that the farm would take part in environmental projects that could provide added value to the product. We provided the list of the project’s demonstrative olive groves that fulfilled those requirements and one of them was finally selected to supply olive oil for their production plants in the UK and Germany (demonstration olive grove Rambla Llana, which belongs to the cooperative “La Olivilla”). This collaboration is an example of other commercial outlets for olive oil and shows how a market sector rewards the environmental added value that Olivares Vivos brings to its products.

Work has been done with a particular focus on the Rural Development Programme and the creation of Operational Groups. The OGs that shared goals with Olivares Vivos were identified, and the coordinating partner of the project (SEO/BirdLife) helped draft a proposal for the creation of an Operational Group on grass covers in olive groves. This proposal was approved and the OG worked during 2018 and 2019. The main goal of the Operational Group was to test different types of herbaceous cover in the olive groves, including a mixture of different native species that is compatible with the crop. The aim was to assess their impact on issues such as biodiversity, crop production, different soil parameters, requirements regarding fertilisation and the use of other phytosanitary products, energy balance and biomass production (carbon sequestration). It also included an important set of training and information transfer actions aimed at olive growers. It was therefore an excellent opportunity to complement the work done by Olive Alive LIFE project with additional data regarding different possibilities of implanting grass covers. It was also a good way to multiply the dissemination of the project, given the joint organization of dissemination activities in the farming sector.

Visit to projects in Crete and Athens (Greece)

In September 2017, a trip to Crete was organised in order to participate in the “Climate Changing Agriculture” International Conference held in Chania. Following previous contact, two projects were visited, meeting the project managers and visiting some of the working plots to learn more about the initiatives. A commitment was made to share information and advice in the future.

• LIVE-CLIMA LIFE Project. This project ended in September 2017. Different farming techniques were tested to fight climate change and to adapt the crops to the new climate change scenario at an affordable cost.
• LIFE AgroClimaWater. The project is testing efficient techniques for the use of irrigation water in woody crops, specifically in olive groves, citrus and peach crops, as a tool for adaptation to climate change.

In addition, a meeting was held with representatives of both projects and other institutions such as Rodax Agro Ltd., the Soil and Water Institute of Greece, the University of Basilicata, the Institute for Olive Tree, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture of the Hellenic Agricultural Organisation “DEMETER” and Piraeus Bank. The purpose of the meeting was to assess the possible replication of the project in olive groves of Greece and Italy and the possibility of applying for a joint LIFE project in the next call.

During the brief stopover in Athens on the journey back to Spain, a meeting was held with representatives of the Hellenic Ornithological Society (HOS). The meeting discussed the content and development of Olivares Vivos, and a framework of collaboration was established for the dissemination of results in Greece, as well as for the future replication of the project.

Visit to projects in Italy

In 2018, we attended “Terra Madre” fair, organised by Slow Food Italy in Turin, us being the unique LIFE Project invited to give one of the conferences during the “Salone del Gusto”, which gave us the opportunity of networking. Subsequently, we visited several sites of the LIFE Project “Granatha”, which aims at restoring old heaths growing on high mountain areas, as well as the cooperative “Frantoio del Parco”, which has recovered a centenary olive grove located in the Natural Parc of Maremma using a land bank. We also contacted the LIFE project VITISOM, which studies soil microorganism biodiversity and seeks to assess the relationship between soil microorganisms and wine quality.

Finally, thanks to our partner UJA-E, we have being collaborating with the AGRABIES project of the National R&D&I Plan, which studies the influence of landscape complexity and fauna on the ecosystem services of olive groves and other tree crops in Spain.

The project’s Participation and Monitoring Committee has been created. All partners and co-financers are represented in the committee by one representative each. The coordinating partner has three representatives: the project director, the technical coordinator and the person responsible for the implementation of this action and action F2 for the project monitoring and assessment, who acts as secretary of the committee.

The presence of the co-financers is especially relevant, beyond their economic participation in the project. These are two organisations closely linked to olive farming, with a great influence on the sector and significant communication and dissemination resources. They shall play an important role in the dissemination of the project, both publicising the results and improving their replicability.

The Foundation “Patrimonio Comunal Olivarero” is a private non-profit organisation that cooperates with the authorities for the compliance with the regulatory standards of the sector, contributes to the promotion and dissemination of the properties of olive oil, issues several publications and promotes research and study works.

The Spanish Olive Oil Interprofessional organisation, as an interprofessional organisation of the agri-food sector, is comprised by all stakeholders: olive growers, olive mills, operators, refiners, bottlers, exporters, etc.

To date, a total of seven different meetings have been scheduled. The first meeting work took place on 20 April 2016, coinciding with the official presentation of the project to the media. The second meeting was held on 20 December 2016 and the representatives of the 20 demonstrative olive groves participating in the project joined the committee. Afterwards, different meetings took place respectively on 29 June 2017, 14 December 2017, in October 2018, in July 2019 and the seventh meeting was held in June 2020.