On Saturday 16 May, fifty people took part in an activity focused at the conservation of European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis) in Morgat ponds, an area of ​​the Fundació Catalunya - La Pedrera which is very near to Banyoles Lake.

The participants learnt about the European Pond Turtle and what is the problem why the species has become an endangered species. The organized groups, under the guidance of volunteers of Limnos Association, conducted a census of turtles, an a workshop for constructing traps to catch turtles, and also knew how to do radio tracking and how to differentiate European Pond Turtle from Florida Turtle, an invasive species.

The day ended with the release of five Pond Turtles from the Centre de Reproducció de Tortugues de l’Albera Artiga lagoon in Can Morgat and a taste of local products elaborated by Can Moragues, a custody project of Emys Foundation. With this release up to 135 turtles have been released into the lake of Banyoles since 2011, with the aim of recovering the original population of this species. The specimens come from the breeding center in Garriguella, that have a captive breeding project for years that has yielded several specimens to repopulate the wetlands of Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà and recently the Ter river.

This activity has been organized by the Fundació Catalunya - La Pedrera, Limnos and the Consorci de l’Estany de Banyoles, under the voluntary program "Hands for Nature" project LIFE Potamo Fauna and with the support of the Department of Territory and Sustainability in the "Education Project for European Pond Turtle: Phase 2" developed by Limnos and Emys Foundation.